Water cannons welcome Emirates' inaugural flight to Yangon

The flight was welcomed by a water cannon salute followed by a press conference and an exchange of gifts by Badr Abbas, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations - Far East - of Emirates Airline and U Aung Kyaw Htun, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Transport, Myanmar.

Myanmar is a rapidly growing economy with a population of 60 million and Yangon - formerly known as Rangoon - is its largest city with 6 million inhabitants. Emirates' direct flight to Yangon will connect the country to the world and help Myanmar work towards achieving its target of 7.5 million tourists a year.

Myanmar - formerly called Burma - is famous for Burma teak hardwood and its golden Shwedagon Pagoda. Rudyard Kipling's poem "Mandalay" speaks of the charm of the country - "Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!" Perhaps Emirates will be able to charm British tourists to experience Myanmar.