China & Cambodia aviation remains uncertain despite China’s opening

• Sommana Yan
• 20 January 2023
• Local News
• 3178 Views

After China announced the reopening, the flights between Cambodia and China as of January 2023, remained uncertain.

According to data from the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, in August 2022, Cambodia had 30 flights between China and Cambodia weekly (quota set by the Chinese side), which means that Cambodian airlines fly 15 times weekly to China and vice versa.

Six Chinese airlines are flying in and out of Cambodia after China announced the opening of the country on 8 January, said Sin Chanserivutha, spokesperson at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA).

He has confirmed that some Chinese tour operators want to reconnect flights. However, the aviation situation between the two countries is still uncertain as the Chinese companies have only applied for reserve parking, which is not a clear indicator, so Cambodia must count the number of landing permits to be able to make a specific assessment.

“Cambodia also welcomes the resumption of Chinese flights from potential provinces to Cambodia, but what we do not know is the number of flights as we see a tendency to request slots,” he said. However, the request for a reserved parking slot is not a specific indicator. We are waiting to see if we can apply for a landing permit so that we can count on a certain number.”

He stressed that with the abolition of the Zero Covid policy without quotas setting, we expect flights between China and Cambodia to increase steadily after the Chinese New Year.

• Tourism and Travelling
• Covid-19