The latest service comes shortly after it announced another fifth freedom route.
SUMMARY
- After more than four years, Emirates will resume flying to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- While it previously flew via Yangon and later Bangkok, this time it will be via Singapore.
- It follows the recent announcement of Dubai-Miami-Bogota.Fifth freedom routes are an exciting part of aviation, especially if they involve an exotic airline or unusual airports – and if tickets are inexpensive. Assume an airline flies A-B-C, where A is an airport in its home nation. It may gain traffic rights to carry passengers from B-C and vice versa, legs that do not touch its homeland, which is the definition of a fifth freedom operation. Emirates recently added Dubai-Miami-Bogota on this basis – and another route has been announced.
- Emirates’ fifth freedom route
- On May 1, Emirates will return to Phnom Penh, perhaps partly influenced by Qatar Airways serving the city from Doha. Emirates first served Phnom Penh in July 2017, when it routed Dubai-Yangon (Myanmar)-Phnom Penh.
- This operation existed until May 2019, when it switched to Dubai-Bangkok-Phnom Penh. This was maintained until March 2020, when so much changed globally. In both cases, it used the Boeing 777-300ER.
- Photo: Steve Worner | Shutterstock
- When the Cambodian capital returns, it will fly via Singapore, with local traffic rights. This routing means it will cover 4,335 miles (6,977 km) each way. When it flew via Bangkok, the trip was only 3,363 miles (5,412 km). The new offering involves a considerable detour.
- Running daily using three-class 777-300ERs, it is scheduled as follows, with all times local. The timings mean it is fed by Emirates’ largest number of arrivals from across Europe, with French flights crucial. It will also feed the most Europe-bound services. This setup, which involves about 4h 25m on the ground in Cambodia, means one aircraft cannot operate to/from Phnom Penh in 24 hours.
- Dubai-Singapore: EK348, 02:30-14:05
- Singapore-Phnom Penh: EK348, 15:35-16:35
- Phnom Penh-Singapore: EK349, 20:50-23:50
- Singapore-Dubai: EK349, 01:40-04:55+1