On July 2, China Southern Airlines opened an air route from Guangzhou to Yangon, bringing the total number of air links between China and Myanmar to three.

Becoming the third Chinese airline that flies Yangon using 120-seat Airbus A319, China Southern Airlines will have regular flights three days a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays after a 30-day promotion period, officials of the airline said.

The opening of the new air route contributes to the enhancement of tourism, trade and economic cooperation and friendship between the two countries, officials with the civil aviation authorities of the two countries told Xinhua.

Of the first two Chinese airlines that fly to Myanmar, Air China has been offering flight services for the route Beijing-Kunming-Yangon since half a century ago. The airline now uses Boeing 737 aircraft for three flights a week on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The other airline is China Eastern Airlines flying between Myanmar's Mandalay and China's Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming. It has four flights a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

There are 11 other airlines including a Myanmar international airline and 10 foreign airlines flying to Yangon with about 82 flights per week in total between Yangon and eight destinations, namely Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Calcutta, Chiang Mai, Chinese Taipei and Doha.

The 10 foreign airlines flying to Yangon comprise Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Qatar Airways, SilkAir, Malaysia Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Mandarin, Jetstar Asia, Phuket Airline and Thai Air Asia.

Myanmar's domestic airlines are represented by the state-run Myanma Airways, two joint ventures - Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways, and national private-run Air Bagan.

Of them, Air Bagan extended its first international flight to Bangkok on May 15 and has planned to add more flight destinations such as Kunming, Singapore, Incheon, Siam Reap, Chennai and Dhaka in the future.

Meanwhile, foreign tourist arrivals in Myanmar increased annually in the past five years registering 654,602 in the fiscal year 2006-07 which ended in March, of whom 276,613 entered through Yangon checkpoint, 5,763 through Mandalay and Bagan checkpoints and 372,226 through border checkpoints.