Airlines operating in Cambodia have submitted applications to increase their flight schedules to meet the rising number of passengers from different parts of the world, especially during the start of high season or summer holidays, said a senior official of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA).
The official said that both local and foreign airlines have sought to increase domestic and international flights to Cambodia’s business and tourism hubs, in particular the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap where passengers will able to reach through the Angkor International Airport during the high season period from October 2023 to March 2024.
Chea Aun, Spokesman and Secretary of State of SSCA, told Khmer Times yesterday that the SSCA has reviewed and expedited those airlines’ requests for increasing the number of flight schedules as the government has encouraged not only existing airlines to increase or resume their flights but also others to launch direct flights to Cambodia from the rest of the world.
“Their applications have arrived with the transportation team and I do not think there is any issue with their requests. We will approve as the government also really wants them to increase flights.
Not only that, but we the government including our minister and myself have strived to communicate and negotiate with partners to have more flights to our country,” he said.
Aun pointed out that the government has encouraged tourists from not only neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand but also the rest of the world to visit Cambodia through all channels including air, water and land, while more tourists from Israel have enjoyed their vacations in Siem Reap after taking flights to the new airport in the province.
Aun further pointed out that all existing airlines that have been operating flights at the current airport will be moved to operate at the Angkor International Airport in about a week after it has been tested from October 5 to 15, 2023. “There is no obstacle in response to requests as we generally encourage airlines to expand both domestic and international flights,” he said.
He went on to add that airlines are required to submit their respective requests for their expansion of flights once every six months if domestic and international couriers operate in Cambodia, but they are also required to submit such requests to other countries such as China, Thailand and Singapore if they operate flights with the international airport of those countries.
“This is an international requirement that airlines have to follow for the winter-summer periods and they also can request to use larger airplanes if they need to serve a bigger number of passengers. In this case, we also give approvals accordingly,” said Aun, adding that the winter takes from March to October, while the summer from October to March.
Speaking to Khmer Times after a strategic alliance agreement signing ceremony held last Thursday, AirAsia Cambodia’s Chief Executive Officer Nam Vissoth said the low-cost airline has been awaiting approval from the government, which is referred to as the SSCA, for its plan to increase the number of international flights to Cambodia at the end of this year.
“For the moment, we only maintain the flights that we have but we will probably increase the flights by the end of this year and we will inform [the public] in due course because it is upon the approval from the government because getting the slots depends on the license and the government, etc. So, we will update to [the public] soon,” said Vissoth.
Vissoth signed the Strategic Alliance with Datuk Phan Ying Tong, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Oriental Bank at the ceremony at Hard Rock Cafe for the latter to provide AirAsia Cambodia with its cutting-edge payment gateway service, encompassing a wide range of payment options, from all card schemes such as Master cards and Visa cards as well as the well-known KHQR developed by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).