Illustrative image (Source: Internet) Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia’s Angkor Air has opened a direct route connecting Preah Sihanoukville and Ho Chi Minh City, aiming to enhance tourism and trade links between the two nations, according to the Cambodian Times.
The HCM City – Sihanoukville route, which was launched on June 17, is Angkor Air’s third route in Vietnam.
The airline will conduct five round-trip flights per week on the route, using 70-seat ATR 72 aircraft.
The new route is expected to help Cambodia attract not only Vietnamese arrivals but also those from other countries to Preah Sihanoukville, contributing to the port city’s economic and tourism development.
Preah Sihanoukville has welcomed an increasing number of Vietnamese visitors recently, hitting 11,200 in the first quarter of this year.
In 2015, the number of international tourists to Cambodia by air reached over 6.3 million, including over 100,000 visitors to Preah Sihanoukville, up 118 percent year-on-year.
This is the second international route the airline has launched this year, after the Phnom Penh – Seoul of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in April, raising its network to 10 routes to international destinations and two domestic destinations.
Established in 2009, Cambodia Angkor Air is a joint venture between Vietnam’s national flag carrier - Vietnam Airlines and the Royal Government of Cambodia, with the former holding 49 percent of the airline.
The carrier owns six aircraft, including two ATR airplanes and four Airbus A320 planes. It is planning to double its fleet to 12 jets by 2020, and launch new flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, the RoK and India to meet the increasing travel demands.-VNA
