Dara Sakor International Airport in Koh Kong province’s Botum Sakor district will start domestic flights in August, Sin Chansereyvutha, Under-Secretary of State of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), said yesterday.
The decision was taken at the technical meeting for evaluating the airport’s work on June 30, he said.
Currently, the airport is almost fully built and technically ready to operate the first phase of domestic flights for 2B aircraft-charter flights – light aircraft with a weight of not more than 5,700kg.
“If nothing changes, the operations will commence in late August 2024 for domestic flights,” Chansereyvutha told Khmer Times.
The meeting also discussed a series of procedures to gradually move towards the launch of international flights in the future. For operating international flights, the company has to obtain airport certification.
The $350 million project is developed by the Chinese firm Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG).
Once operational, the airport will be able to handle long-haul aircraft including Boeing 777 and Airbus A340.
Currently, Cambodia has three airports -Phnom Penh International Airport, Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, and Sihanouk International Airport.
The government also has plans to build domestic airports in Battambang and Mondulkiri provinces as well.
Currently, 31 domestic and international airlines are operating in Cambodia including from eight ASEAN countries, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the SSCA figures, Cambodia’s three international airports handled a combined 2.5 million air passengers in the first five months this year, up 22 percent from 2.1 million recorded in the same period last year.
