India’s leading low-cost carrier IndiGo plans to expand its international network with the introduction of flights to Cambodia next year.
Starting from February 2025, the airline will offer two direct routes connecting India and Cambodia, said Koy Kuong, Cambodian Ambassador to India.
The first route will link New Delhi, India’s capital, to Phnom Penh.
The second route will connect Kolkata, India’s third-largest city, to Siem Reap, renowned for its ancient Angkor Wat temple complex.
“India’s Airlines IndiGo is scheduled to launch direct flights New Delhi-Phnom Penh and Kolkata-Siem Reap in February 2025,” Kuong wrote in his Facebook page posted on Tuesday.
The Secretariat of State for Civil Aviation has already given IndiGo permission and the airline is just waiting for the actual flight of the company.
IndiGo initially planned to connect flights to Cambodia by the end of 2024, but due to changes, flights may be delayed until early 2025, said Sinn Chanserey Vutha, Secretary of State and Spokesman at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.
SSCA has not received any information of the airline’s flight schedule to Cambodia, he added.
“The launching of the new routes will benefit both countries in terms of shorter travel and lower costs, especially as both sides want to promote tourism, culture, religion and health,” Vutha told Khmer Times on Tuesday.
In June 2024, Cambodia Angkor Air launched direct flights to India four times a week.
Tourism experts see the launch of Cambodia-India flights as an opportunity for Cambodia to attract more Indian tourists to Cambodia.
“This direct connection will contribute to tourism sector development in Cambodia. It not only simplifies travel but also strengthens cultural ties between the two nations,” said Chhay Sivlin, President of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA).
Due to the global economic situation, the flight market between Cambodia and India does not seem to be improving as weekly flights by Cambodia Angkor Air have also experienced changes, some weeks there are four flights, some down three and two, he said.
Figures from the Ministry of Tourism showed that some 6,000 Indian tourists visited the Kingdom in the first eight months of this year.
(Source: khmertimeskh)