Lao Airlines will launch three routes to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia to link their major tourist sites, Lao News Agency KPL reported Monday.

Lao Airlines, in which the Lao government holds a 40-percent stake, will on Oct. 4 open a route with three flights a week linking the ancient capital city of Luang Prabang, a world heritage site, to Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

The air carrier will conduct two weekly flights on each of the two other routes, linking to Vietnam's Hanoi capital city, starting on Oct. 29, and to Cambodia's northern Siem Reap province, beginning on Oct. 30.

Some 245,000 domestic and foreign passengers fly with Lao Airlines each year, KPL said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2006)