Emirates celebrates one year of flight service to the capital
EMIRATES Airline celebrated the oneyear anniversary of its Cambodia-Dubai route on Monday, with the company’s local manager saying demand for flights to the Middle Eastern nation is strong.
Over the past year, the company has ferried 70,000 passengers from Phnom Penh to Dubai on the flight which stops in Yangon.
Abdulla Adnan, general manager of Emirates Cambodia, spoke on Monday at the capital’s Rosewood Hotel during the anniversary, saying the airline industry in Cambodia is seeing strong growth.
“Cambodia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world,” he said, “we are proud to have contributed to this growth.”
A bright future
Landing its inaugural flight at Phnom Penh International Airport on July 1 last year, the route added Cambodia to a list of 157 destinations serviced by Emirates, said Adnan.
He added the daily service used a Boeing 777-300 ER with both economy and business class seating. Cambodia looks set to add three new carriers this year, bringing the total number to 10.
The aviation sector has seen rapid growth in recent years – from two airlines with seven aircraft in 2013 to its current number of seven airlines with 30 aircraft.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicts that there will be 45 aircraft flying to and from Cambodia by the end of this year.
In addition to passenger service, Emirates has also offered its SkyCargo freight service since 2016.
“We have every confidence in the Cambodian market and will continue to explore further opportunities to develop travel links between Cambodia and the world through the Emirates hub in Dubai,” Adnan said.