BANGKOK - THAILAND'S major airlines said on Thursday they had cut the number of flights to Myanmar because the unrest in its military-run neighbour had caused a large drop in passenger traffic.

Since the beginning of October, flag carrier Thai Airways has scaled down its fights between Bangkok and Yangon from three a day to two a day, a public relations officer at the airline said.

'We have seen the traffic on this route drop by 20 per cent since the unrest began last month,' the spokeswomen said.

Myanmar's embassies around the region have been refusing many tourist visa applications, possibly in an attempt to prevent foreign journalists travelling there to report on the crackdown.

Thai AirAsia, Thailand's biggest budget carrier, also cut its flights linking Bangkok with Yangon.

It now flies there three times a week, down from seven, the airline's chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said.

Traffic on the route had nearly halved, he said.

'Yangon is among our main destinations with high traffic, and we want to maintain operations there,' Tassapon said.

'It depends on the situation, but we expect to resume seven flights weekly to Yangon in the future.' Bangkok Airways, Thailand's biggest private airline, said it would reduce its Bangkok-Yangon flights to three a week starting next Tuesday.

The carrier currently flies once daily from Bangkok to the former capital of Myanmar.

'Hopefully we will be able to resume full operations there when things improve,' an airline official told AFP.

Kasikorn Research Centre, a Thai think-tank, said about 27,300 Thais flew into Myanmar in 2006, an increase of 17 per cent from a year earlier.

Bangkok is also a key gateway for other Asians and Europeans to travel to Myanmar.

Before the unrest, the centre had predicted that 35,000 Thais would fly to Myanmar this year, but they have now revised that down to 28,000, saying they expect a 60 per cent drop in arrivals in Myanmar in the last quarter. -- AFP