If your next motorcycle taxi driver seems especially adept at gliding through traffic, you might ask where he got his training: More and more of Cambodia’s pilots are working as motorcycle taxi drivers today since a two-year-long suspension of Royal Air Cambodge airlines left them penniless and, in some cases, desperate for work.
Pilot Chhim Sophoan said some of his former colleagues from the airline have turned to any job they can find.
“I studied a lot and have 20 years of flying experience,” he said. “Now I am left with nothing to do. I am remorseful and disappointed.”
The pilots’ despair has drawn the attention of lawmaker Keo Remy, who brought up the issue during National Assembly debate on Tuesday. He called on Minister of Cabinet Sok An, who is the chairman of Royal Air Cambodge, and Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene in the situation.
“This is a sad thing that our pilots ended up being jobless,” he said. “The government has to seek a job for the pilots. If we abandon these pilots, our human resources will disappear.”
Chhim Sophoan, one of Cambodia’s few Boeing jet pilots, said he has been idle for so long now that the delay threatens to diminish his flying skills.
The 36-year-old Kompong Cham native has 20 years of flying experience. He was trained in the former Soviet Union for five years, then spent one year in France and three months in New Zealand to finish off his training.
He said all of the RAC pilots once had access to government air force planes and training but were cut off because they were employed by the RAC. Their rights to government planes have not been renewed now that RAC is suspended.
Chhim Sophoan called on Hun Sen and his government to put RAC pilots into the air force.
“We want the government to give value to the Khmer pilot by allowing them to continue their careers. If we are abandoned, it’s a big loss for the government.”
He said about five to six pilots, including himself, have international certification to fly Boeing aircraft, including the Boeing 737.
Even Iraq values its pilots enough to give them training when they do not have planes to fly: The Iraqi government sent its civilian aircraft pilots to work for Malaysian Airlines during the Persian Gulf War of 1991, Chhim Sophoan.
Chhim Sophoan said he suspects politics are playing a large role in the standoff: Many of the pilots formerly working for RAC were affiliated with Funcinpec. The RAC was once managed by a Funcinpec official.
Chhim Sophoan was also a pilot for Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
“But as a pilot, I did not serve any political group. I just served the nation,” he said.
He also criticized the government for allowing private airlines to hire foreign pilots when Cambodia has some pilots who were trained under international standards. Siem Reap Airways and President Air should hire more Cambodian staff, he said.
“Where is the encouragement for human resource development in Cambodia?” he asked, saying that he spent his life studying.
piloting but in the end was forcibly returned to a normal life.
