ALTHOUGH Bangladesh has said it would try to entice international airlines to add Dhaka to their list of destinations through an “open skies” initiative starting this month, carriers in Myanmar said they had no immediate plans to start flying there.

Bangladesh has said that in October and November it would grant permission to any international airline that wanted to start flying to and from Dhaka because there were not enough flights available for Bangladeshis who wanted to work in other countries.

However, a spokesperson from Myanmar Airways International said there was not enough interest in flying to Bangladesh from Yangon to justify adding Dhaka to their schedule. “Myanmar’s national carrier used to fly to Dhaka in the 1980s but there were many more people interested in flying out than flying in, so the flights were suspended,” he said. “Flights can only be profitable if there are enough passengers flying in both directions.”

He said Myanmar Airways International would reconsider adding Dhaka flights in the future if the route seemed profitable.