Siem Reap Air, a new airline backed by Thai carrier Bangkok Airways, made its inaugural flight Friday—the first foreign carrier to fly the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap route.
Silk Air also launched a new service to Siem Reap Friday, offering direct flights from Hong Kong, Reuters news service reported.
The new services are part of the government’s “open skies” policy, geared at increasing competition and improving flights to Cambodia’s No 1 tourist attraction, said Tourism Ministry Secretary of State Thong Khon.
“I hope there will not be any flight delay or cancellation as the tourists faced before,” he said. “It will improve the quality to international standard air transportation.”
Three additional foreign carriers—from Laos, Burma and Hong Kong—will soon start flying the Phnom Penh to Siem Reap route, Thong Khon added.
The introduction of the new foreign carriers poses fresh competition for Cambodia’s three national airlines.
An anonymous Royal Air Cambodge technician said the troubled state-run carrier will struggle to keep its head above water unless it gets more support from the government, which criticizes RAC while praising its Thai competitors. “Cambodian high-ranking officials fly on Thai Airways more than Royal Air Cambodge.”
But So Mara, Director General of the Tourism Ministry, said existing carriers have too many problems with flight delays and cancellations.
“We got a lot of complaints from tourists,” he said. “That’s why Siem Reap Airways [was invited] to start up.”
The demand for flights is so high that Cambodia needs to introduce foreign carriers to supply the needs of tourists wanting to visit Angkor Wat, So Mara said.
“We need more flights, we need more facilities for this province,” he said. “I don’t think Siem Reap Air will be [in] competition with the other airlines.”
International arrivals to Siem Reap this year have more than doubled compared to the same time period for last year, totaling 54,515 , Thong Khon said.
