Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport resumed full operations on Thursday after an airplane skidded off the runway Tuesday, Societe Concessionaire de l’Aeroport said in a statement.
“Work to remove the Vietnam Airlines A320 aircraft, which had run off the runways, were successfully undertaken on July 6 at 23:30,” the statement read.
SCA spokesman Khek Norinda said all 50 scheduled departures and arrivals were on time Thursday. “It has all returned to normal,” he said.
The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation is investigating what caused the airplane, which was carrying 90 passengers and eight crew members, to overrun the runway and into the mud.
Airport Director Bun Ratha said experts are testing the aircraft for mechanical failures.
“There doesn’t seem to be any serious problem,” he said.
Bun Ratha added that he does not think the length of the runway was a factor.
“My point of view is that the problem could come from the air traffic controllers or the pilots,” he said.
Vietnam Airlines General Manager Long Mai Xuan was in Siem Reap on Wednesday for the investigation. He said the 90 passengers aboard the flight were given free car travel to Phnom Penh and the option of free flights to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
The managing director of leading travel agency Eurasie Travel urged the government to complete its investigation quickly and to upgrade the airport
“In another country, under rainfall or even snow, an aircraft can land safely,” Moeung Sonn said.
A straw poll of major Siem Reap hotels Thursday morning indicated that none had experienced major cancellations. A reservation clerk at the Empress Angkor Hotel said 80 guests due to arrive from Singapore were delayed for two days due to the incident.
“Everything seems normal,” said Han Ngethan, concierge at the Raffles Grand Hotel.
(Additional reporting by Erik Wasson)
