# Mandalay International Airport

Mandalay International Airport (IATA: MDL, ICAO: VYMD), located 35 km south of Mandalay in Tada-U, is one of three international airports in Myanmar. Completed in 1999, it replaced the old Mandalay Chanmyathazi Airport as the city's main airport and it was the largest and most modern airport in the country until the modernization of Yangon International Airport in 2008. The airport connects 11 domestic and seven international destinations. Its 4,267 m (14,000 ft) runway is the longest runway in use in Southeast Asia and has the capacity to handle up to 3 million passengers a year.

## History

The Mandalay International Airport project was first conceived by the Burmese military government in the mid-1990s as a way to increase overall levels of foreign investment and tourism in Myanmar. With Yangon boasting the only other international airport in the whole country, the new Mandalay airport was regarded as crucial in achieving a planned 10% annual passenger growth. The hope was for Mandalay to become a hub for flights to other major Asian cities, in particular Beijing, Hanoi, Bangkok, Kolkata, and Dhaka.
On 16 November 2014, a consortium of Mitsubishi Group and an affiliate from Japan Airlines signed a concession agreement with the Myanmar government to operate the airport for 30 years. The joint firm undertook the operation, rehabilitation, and maintenance of airport facilities, including terminal buildings and the airport's sole runway, excluding air traffic control, with operations having begun around March 2015. The agreement's main focus is to generate further expansion of domestic and international flights to Mandalay and to increase passenger traffic through the airport.

## Airlines and destinations

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Air Thanlwin | Bagan, Bhamo, Heho, Kalemyo, Kengtung, Lashio, Myitkyina, Naypyidaw, Tachileik, Yangon |
| China Eastern Airlines | Kunming |
| Juneyao Air | Nanjing |
| Kunming Airlines | Kunming |
| Loong Air | Hangzhou |
| Mann Yatanarpon Airlines | Bagan, Heho, Kengtung, Myitkyina, Tachilek, Thandwe, Yangon |
| Mingalar Aviation Services | Bagan, Bhamo, Heho, Kalemyo, Kengtung, Khamti, Myitkyina, Naypyidaw, Sittwe, Tachileik, Thandwe, Yangon Charter: Imphal |
| Myanmar Airways International | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Kengtung, Myitkyina, Novosibirsk, Taipei–Taoyuan, Yangon Seasonal charter: Hangzhou, Hefei, Jinjiang, Linyi, Nanchang, Yantai |
| Myanmar National Airlines | Bhamo, Chiang Mai, Kalemyo, Kengtung, Khamti, Loikaw, Mangshi, Myitkyina, Naypyidaw, Pakokku, Sittwe, Tachilek, Thandwe, Yangon |
| Ruili Airlines | Mangshi |

## Airport facilities

Opened on 17 September 2000, the terminal building can handle 1,000 passenger arrivals and 1,000 passenger departures per hour. The capacity of the airport is estimated to be 3 million passengers per annum, with an expansion capacity of more than 15 million. The site occupies a total area of 10,123 hectares and is located in central Myanmar about 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Mandalay near the town of Tada-U. The journey from the airport to the city center of Mandalay takes approximately an hour by car.
The concrete runway at Mandalay Airport is 4,267 metres (14,000 ft) long and 61 metres (200 ft) wide, and long enough for any size of commercial aircraft to land. The car park accommodates 700 vehicles.
The terminal is fitted with air conditioning, fire protection and emergency power generating systems. It is also equipped with six passenger lifts, one freight lift, three escalators, and a baggage handling system. Three out of the six-passenger boarding bridges can handle modern Boeing 747-8i aircraft. There is sufficient space for ten aircraft to anchor, and at a rate of 8 minutes per plane, aircraft of any size and make can touch down or take off to any destination abroad. MAGS (Mandalay Airport Ground Services) provides both passenger and cargo aircraft ground services.
Systems incorporated into the airport include VHF and HF SSB transmitters and receivers, a voice communication control system, an automatic terminal information system (ATIS), and an aeronautical fixed telecommunications network. The air traffic control tower is equipped with a variety of radar and navigation systems.

### Passenger facilities

As of 2023, these facilities exist at the airport:
* 36 check-in desks
* 8 gates
* 6 air-bridges
* 3 baggage claim belts
* 11 short-term parking spaces
* 6 long-term parking spaces
* Post office and bank
* Bureau de Change
* Restaurants and VIP lounges
* Duty-free facilities
* Newsagent/tobacconist
* Travel agency, tourist helpdesk and car rental

## Statistics
### Top destinations

Busiest flights out of Mandalay by flight per weekly, As of 6 July 2024. :
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (weekly) |
| 1 | Yangon | 28 |
| 2 | Myitkyina | 20 |
| 3 | Tachilek | 12 |
| 4 | Mangshi | 10 |
| 5 | Heho | 7 |
| 6 | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi | 7 |
| 7 | Bangkok–Don Mueang | 7 |
| 8 | Kengtung | 7 |
| 9 | Kalaymyo | 6 |
| 10 | Homalin | 5 |

### Traffic by calendar year

| | Passengers | Change from previous year | Landings |
| 2011 | 528,193 | | 17,926 |
| 2012 | 610,969 | 016% | 19,059 |
| 2013 | 794,432 | 030% | 22,590 |
| 2014 | 938,901 | 018% | 24.598 |
| 2015 | 1,016,549 | 08% | 25,446 |
| 2016 | 1,171,753 | 015% | 25,184 |
| 2017 | 1,320,945 | 012% | 25,073 |
| 2018 | 1,403,571 | 06% | 22,926 |
| 2019 | 1,814,496 | 029% | 27,234 |
| 2020 | 129,973 | 01297% | 4,110 |
| Source: ||||

## Operator changes

Airport operations and maintenance are handled by a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corporation, JALUX Inc., and SPA Project Management Ltd., which won a bid in 2013 to upgrade and operate the airport for 30 years. The previous operator was Myanmar's Ministry of Transport. In August 2013, the vendor technical team started the inspection of the airport to develop an airport Master Plan that included airport services and cargo-handling areas as well as anticipating future needs such as extending the airport's buildings.

## Incidents

On 12 May 2019, Myanmar National Airlines Flight 103 from Yangon, carrying 82 passengers and 7 crew, was approaching Mandalay International Airport when the front landing gear was unable to be extended. An emergency landing was conducted without the front landing gear. No injuries were sustained in this accident.

## Gallery

* The runways seen from the air
* Tourist entry stamp