Newly trained aircraft service specialists will soon be positioned at Pochentong and Siem Reap airports, according to Cambodia Airport Management Services, which said its aim is to raise efficiency and safety at both airports.
Denis Leluc, CAMS’ operation manager, said last week that 14 staffers from the 200-strong handling department have completed one-month of intensive training for the newly created “ramp coordinator” position. Twelve of them will serve at Pochentong and the other two at Siem Reap.
“Ramp coordinators are like policemen for aircraft,” Leluc said, explaining that the specialists will control passenger boarding, and oversee loading luggage and goods on both cargo and passenger airplanes.
Leluc said the coordinators are meant to ensure better services for an increasing number of airlines and passengers. At peak times as many as 67 airplanes are now handled simultaneously at the Pochentong Airport, he said.
More than 800,000 passengers have used Phnom Penh’s international gateway so far this year, marking a 20 percent increase from last year.
An official of the Civil Aviation Secretariat welcomed the service improvement, but said more improvements are necessary in airport infrastructure, including enlarging checking counters and passenger terminals.
“We are facing problems in handling passengers who often line up at the small checking counters during the peak hours,” said Chun Sivoun, deputy-director of the civil aviation’s flight operation department.
CAMS said a larger passenger lounge with two airbridges will be in Pochentong by July.
