Phnom Penh, February 05, 2019 —
In 2018, the three international airports in Cambodia welcomed in total 10,553,493 passengers, up 20 percent from a year earlier, and this was the first time the airports handled upwards of 10 million people, according to Cambodia Airports’ news release.
Meanwhile, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanouk International Airports recorded a total of 74,655 tons of cargo, and 104,803 aircraft movements.
Only in last December, Phnom Penh International Airport attracted more than 500,000 passengers, reflecting a 21 percent increase from December 2017. Sihanouk International was also the site of increased activity last month, as its number of passengers grew by 125 percent.
Cambodia Airports hit a new cargo milestone when, at the end of a busy year, it received more than 70,000 tons in cargo at Phnom Penh International throughout 2018 – a 16 percent increase from the year before. In December alone, cargo to Phnom Penh rose by 7 percent.
Siem Reap International handled approximately the same number of passengers in December as it did the same month last year, and experienced a 15 percent drop in cargo.
Throughout 2018, Chinese airlines began offering more frequent and direct flights to Cambodia’s cities. While the year saw fewer visitors flying into the Kingdom from various countries in the region – including Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines – than did 2017, the number of Chinese visitors rose exponentially.
By Khan Sophirom, AKP