Two more Asean direct flights near
C A MBODI A is ex pected to have d i r e c t a i r l i n k s w it h a l l A s e a n member states t his yea r, wit h t he exception of only Brunei, as two new airlines connecting the Kingdom to t he Philippines and Indonesia will launch t his year.
P h i l i p p i n e A i r l i n e s ( PA L ) announced it will launch a f light service to Phnom Penh from Manila in April, the first direct air link between the Philippines and Cambodia.
Last week, a delegation from Indonesian low-cost airline Citilink met Ca mbodia n Minister of Tou r ism Thong Khon and unveiled plans to open t he direct air route, connecti ng t he t wo count r ies dur i ng t he second half of t his year.
State Secretariat of Civ il Av iation spokesperson Chea Aun on Sunday said with the two expected air routes in operation, Cambodia will be connected direct ly by air ser v ice wit h a ll t he countries of t he Asean bloc, except for Brunei.
“When t here is a direct air route available, t here will be more inf low of tou r ist s at f i rst a nd later businesses will also come,” he said, addi ng t hat t he absence of di rect a i r routes make tourists and businesses depend on a t hi rd count r y for connecting f lights, consuming time and money.
PA L is schedu led to launch t he Phnom Penh-Manila f light on April 1. It will operate f ive times weekly
from Monday to Saturday. The first flight, PR521 will depart from Manila at 10:10pm and will be scheduled to arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport at 11:45pm.
Ta l k i ng to repor ters a f ter meeting wit h Citilink’s deleg a t ion l a s t Fr id a y, K hon sa id Ca mbod ia welc omes Citilink’s readiness to operate a direct f light to the Kingdom, a dd i ng t h a t more d i r e c t f l ig ht s bet ween Ca mbodia and Asean member states are cr ucia l.
“This will make our dream come true – we have waited for it for a long time,” he said, referring to Citilink’s plans to launch t he direct f light to t he Kingdom.
Khon said currently, travellers between Cambodia and Indonesia need to transit t hrough Si ngapore, Kua la Lu mpur, Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh.
Ministry of Tourism figures indicate that some 47,256 Indonesians visited Cambodia last year – up nine per cent from a year earlier. Filipinos visiting Cambodia totalled 76,024 last year – a 14 per cent decrease from 88,906 in 2017.
Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) president Chhay Sivlin on Sunday said more direct flights between Cambodia and Asean member states is essential to boost bilateral tourism, trade and investment.
Sivlin said t he Philippines a nd Indonesia a re big markets for Cambodian tourism as outbound tour ists in t he t wo nat ions have increased a n nua l l y a nd repre s ent a huge market.
“The previous absence of direct air routes between our countries was a barrier to attracting tourists. We believe that with more airlines [providing direct flights], the Cambodian tourism industry will benefit,” she said.