Myitkyina airport in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, has been reopened since March 18, according to airport staff.

“The airport reopened today. We can’t say exactly how operations will resume yet since ticket sales haven’t started. But it’s definitely reopening today,” a ground staff member said.

The airport in junta-controlled Myitkyina was hit by a drone attack around 8:30 p.m. on February 20. The attack damaged the fuselage of a Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) ATR 72-600 passenger plane that was preparing to take off for Mandalay in central Myanmar. The following day, February 21, the junta suspended all flight operations at the airport.

Initially, reports suggested the airport’s reopening could be delayed until May, but it reopened on March 18, earlier than expected.

The development follows a meeting in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, to discuss reopening Myitkyina Airport, a source close to the coup regime there said.

For almost a month while all operations at Myitkyina Airport were halted, locals had only one option to travel to Mandalay: by land.

However, representatives who won seats in Kachin State in the junta-organized election were flown from Myitkyina to attend parliamentary sessions in Naypyidaw during the airport’s closure. This has led to speculation that Myitkyina Airport will fully resume operations after the junta's parliamentary sessions conclude.

“The airport was probably closed for the safety of the representatives. Now that the parliamentary sessions have ended, it could reopen in a few days,” a political analyst in Kachin State said.

An airport ticket salesperson also told KNG that normal operations are likely to resume in the coming days.

The new parliament formed through the junta-organized elections convened the People’s Assembly, the lower house, in Naypyidaw on the morning of March 16. U Nanda Kyaw Swar, who chaired the session, announced that all 373 elected representatives were present.