Cambodia flights recover

Published: 24/11/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Air traffic between Thailand and Cambodia has returned to near-normal levels after plummeting at the height of the diplomatic spat earlier this month.

Bangkok-based carriers such as Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways saw bookings start to rebound last week.

Tension between the nations escalated rapidly after fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia on Nov 10 to take up his appointment as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.

Bangkok Airways, which has the largest capacity between the two countries, saw Thais cancel flights to Siem Reap during the dispute. But there was a steady flow of foreign passengers, especially Europeans, said executives at the airline.

Bangkok Airways operates six daily flights to Siem Reap and three daily flights to Phnom Penh.

THAI, which has 14 flights a week between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, saw about 40% of reservations cancelled in the week after Thaksin's visit.

"We're almost back to normal now," said a senior THAI executive.

Bookings show no sign that they will drop in the near future, he said.

"I think that people appreciate that politics and economics are separate issues in the Thai-Cambodian case, so it looks like business as usual," he said.

But Thai AirAsia, which operates daily flights between the two capitals, said it was entirely unaffected by the souring of diplomatic ties.

Thai AirAsia chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said nothing suggests that its load factor on the route will drop in the near future.

Bangkok has been a gateway to Cambodia, especially among long-haul international travellers, because of easy and frequent connections through Suvarnabhumi airport.