On Wednesday this week, the final flight from Don Mueang International Airport to Mae Hong Son Airport with Nok air landed in the northwestern province Northern Province. This was the only commercial route from Bangkok. 

 
A travel destination in its own right, Mae Hong Son is also a scenic two hour mountain drive to the popular backpacker destination of Pai and only three hours from Salween National Park on the border with Myanmar. 
 
The reason for the change comes as Nok Air trades Q400 aircraft for Boeing 787-800 jets, and while the Mae Hong Son Ministry of Commerce has commented that such crafts can land at Mae Hong Son Airport, the increased number of passengers on the aircraft mean the route would be unviable. 
 
This comes as a particularly heavy blow to the sleepy northwestern province as Nok air also announced late last year that they would end their route from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, a quicker route for those on the “Mae Hong Son Loop,” a tourist trail popular with bikers. 
 
Mae Hong Son, Pai, and Salween National Park are now only accessible by road from Chiang Mai.