Vietnam Airlines flew four trial charter flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap last weekend, but is still waiting for government approval for daily flights, an airline official said Tuesday.
The company has been negotiating with the government for the new route since late last year.
A spokesman in Vietnam Airlines’ Phnom Penh office said the airline was anxious to begin charter flights and did not know why the government has not yet agreed. “The government approved Bangkok Airways’ application and we want to be treated the same,” he said.
Bangkok Airways last year was given the green light for direct charters from Bangkok to Siem Reap. State Secretariat of Civil Aviation officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The company would like to begin daily flights between the two cities on April 1.