To meet the growing demand from international and domestic travellers in 2023, the national flag carrier of Cambodia is gearing up and will be expanding its fleet and route network. In just a few-days-away year, Cambodia Angkor Air plans to strengthen its fleet by inducting a new ATR and a new Airbus 320, says the carrier.

“The most difficult period for our airline is over; we are looking toward the brilliant future where Cambodia Angkor Air shall grow faster and fly further, bringing Cambodian culture and images to the world,” said Tekreth Samrach, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cambodia Angkor Air.

The airline, an official member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 2017, has expanded its route network to link important cities and tourist places, which include 14 destinations such as Phnom
Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville (domestic); Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Danang (all Vietnam); and Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Haikou, Nanning, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, and Macao.

Since the beginning of 2022, the number of international visitors to Cambodia has increased remarkably and the country is gearing up for a spurt in domestic as well as international travel in the coming years. Air travel has also witnessed a significant rise in this period.

The airline expects to carry over 214,000 passengers in 2022, according to a note posted on the homepage of the airline’s website.

The Kingdom is expected to record 12.5-13 million domestic tourists and welcome over 2.2 million international travellers in 2022.

It hopes to record 3-4 million arrivals in 2023 and to reach the pre-Covid-19 levels of tourists (around 7 million) in three-four years (by 2026 or 2027).

The Cambodian air carrier is also looking at widening the route network and covering the potential destinations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and especially China with the development project of the “Henan-Cambodia-ASEAN-Air Silk Road Strategic Cooperation Agreement”.

The first airline in Cambodia to receive a safety certificate from the IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), Cambodia Angkor Air also plans to establish a second headquarter in China, according to the December 21 note.

The airline aims to open routes to Haikou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing in China, and Singapore, which could raise the passenger carrying capacity to 650,000 with nearly 10,000 flights, read the December 21 dated note.

Cambodia Angkor Air, the only national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Cambodia, in over 10 years of operations has played an important role in promoting tourism, air transportation, and the economy.

During the Covid-19 pandemic that devastated the tour and travel industry, Cambodia Angkor Air with the support of the government maintained its services and also increased flight frequencies, especially to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Guangzhou in China. It also increased the cargo service, including medical tool kits and supplies.

Meanwhile, Cambodia Airways, a domestic carrier, is also expanding its route network and has launched two new flights to Singapore and Samui (Thailand) this year. Apart from Cambodia Angkor Air and Cambodia Airways, four more aviation service providers, namely, Bassaka Air, JC International Airlines, Lanmei Airlines, and Sky Angkor Airlines, are registered in the Kingdom.

AirAsia Cambodia, a low-cost airline, set up on December 9, as a joint venture between AirAsia Aviation Group of Malaysia and Sivilai Asia of Cambodia, is likely to start service
in 2023.

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