A member of the staff at the airline's Singapore office who did not want to be named said employees were informed by the airline on Thursday not to accept any more bookings from next Sunday.

'We were told not to take any more bookings from Nov 4 until further notice,' the employee said, adding that no reason was given.

An agent at Singapore's New Shan Travel Service said yesterday the airline had sent a memo about the suspension to travel agents here.

Reuters reported that in an e-mail to about 15 tour operators who sell Air Bagan tickets, Mr Gopi Bala, Air Bagan's senior sales and marketing manager, said the US sanctions had cut off the carrier's access to spare parts.

The final blow came last week when the airline's banks in Singapore informed it they would 'stop dealing with us for the time being', Mr Gopi was quoted as saying.

Air Bagan and two other companies doing business in Singapore were among seven firms targeted by US measures after the military regime's deadly suppression of anti-government protests last month.

The sanctions are designed to target organisations with ties to Myanmar's ruling junta in the hope that it will pile more pressure on the regime to reform.

Last month, Air Bagan made Singapore its second international destination.

Mr Sean Turnell, an economics professor who specialises in Myanmar at Australia's Macquarie University, had described the airline's chairman, Mr Tay Za, as having 'very, very strong links to the junta'.

Reuters, AFP