Flight path open to India

PHNOM PENH Cambodia’s civil aviation officials invite airline companies to file applications to operate flights between Cambodia and India.

Khmer Times quoted the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation spokesperson, Sin Chansereyvutha, saying SSCA and Indian aviation officials agreed, at a recent meeting in New Delhi, that airline companies in Cambodia and India should now file applications to operate flights from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to New Delhi and other Indian cities.

A memorandum of understanding between Cambodia and India that authorises the rights to operate direct flight route was signed in 2002, the report said.

“With the MoU already in existence, it is easy for both Cambodian- and India-based airlines  to file applications to start a service,” he said.

Indian Ambassador to Cambodia, Naveen Srivastrava, said during a recent India TourismRoad Show in Phnom Penh that direct flights between Cambodia and India could start early next year.

Currently, passengers travelling from India need to change planes in Bangkok, which is time consuming and more expensive than direct flights.

For the first seven months of this year, Cambodia welcomed 24,329 Indian travellers an increase of 30.6% from 18,631 visits during the same period last year.

Last year, the country attracted 36,671 Indian tourists improving 28.5% from 28,529 visits in 2014.