Myanmar Airways International

Is Myanmar Airways International safe?

The airline's own record is good. Myanmar Airways International (MAI), the country's main international carrier, has no fatal accident and no aircraft written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary on record, and it is an IATA member, so it passes an IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary safety audit every two years. The real risk is the country it flies in. Myanmar has been in civil war since the 2021 coup, and in 2026 drones struck a parked airliner at Myitkyina and attacked Mandalay airport. We score MAI 72. Without the conflict it would sit near Bangkok Airways (76).

How the civil war affects flights

Three events this year show what the conflict means for airlines.

• Myitkyina, February 2026. On 20 February a drone carrying explosives hit a Myanmar National Airlines ATR 72-600 while passengers were boarding for Mandalay. Nobody was hurt, but the tail, nose and cockpit windows were badly damaged. MAI and the other Myanmar airlines suspended flights to Myitkyina indefinitely (ch-aviation).
• Mandalay, September 2026. On 11 September resistance forces fired drones at Mandalay's Tada-U International Airport, MAI's second hub. MAI said all international flights there were suspended and domestic flights moved to a nearby airport. State media reported no casualties or runway damage (Reuters).
• Fuel, March 2026. A jet fuel shortage linked to the Middle East crisis stopped most domestic flights for four days, until 25 March. The government then told airlines to give priority to places that are hard to reach by road, such as Putao, Sittwe and Kawthaung.

EASA, the EU's aviation safety agency, published an Information Note in July 2026 covering all Myanmar airspace below FL260, valid to 31 January 2027. It does not ban flights; it tells airlines to weigh the risk in their planning. Low altitudes matter most for take-offs and landings at airports near fighting, which is where MAI's domestic flights operate. That is why the environment factor is 45.

The airline's own record

MAI started flying in 1993. The Aviation Safety Network lists no accident caused by the airline. Its one recorded accident happened while an aircraft stood still: on 14 April 2014 a Golden Myanmar Airlines A320 under pushback at Yangon hit the rear fuselage of a parked MAI A319, which was badly damaged and later repaired. In April 2026 it happened again in a smaller way: a Myanmar National Airlines ATR, taxiing with failed brakes, swerved off the taxiway and struck a parked MAI A319 at Yangon. Neither event was MAI's doing, so both weigh lightly.

We found no serious incident caused by MAI in the last ten years. Myanmar's investigators notify foreign boards, such as France's BEA, about events on Airbus and ATR aircraft, but they publish little themselves, so we score incidents at 64, not higher.

What does MAI fly?

In March 2024 ch-aviation listed four A319s, five A320s (two of them wet-leased, meaning flown with another company's crew), two Embraer E190s and a wet-leased Boeing 737 freighter. That month MAI also took its first ATR 72-600, an 11.6-year-old turboprop that Virgin Australia had stored since 2020, for domestic routes.

The A319 and A320 are current types, but MAI's are older ceo models, and several of its aircraft are second-hand or leased. The airline does not publish an average age, so the fleet scores 60. MAI's sister airline Mingalar, formerly Air KBZ, has its own code (K7) and certificate, and its record is not counted here.

Before you fly MAI

• Check the airport, not just the airline. On domestic routes to places like Myitkyina, Sittwe or Mandalay, ask whether the airport is open and look at recent news before you leave. Closures in 2026 came at short notice.
• Route international trips through Yangon. It is MAI's main hub, while Mandalay lost its international flights in September 2026 after the drone attack.
• Read your government's travel advice. Several governments advise against travel to large parts of Myanmar, which can affect your insurance as well as your safety on the ground.

How we scored it

The accident record (87) is strong: no fatal crash or hull lossHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary, and one ground collision another airline caused. Oversight (70) rests on IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary and the absence of any EU listing. The fleet (60) is current in type but older and second-hand. Incidents (64) reflects a thin public record. The environment (45) pulls the score down: drone attacks on airports and an EASA warning for all low-level Myanmar airspace. Compare Biman Bangladesh (68), whose Dash 8 was destroyed landing at Yangon in 2019.