Phnom Penh celebrates the arrival of Tiger Airways as its third carrier to Singapore on Monday morning.
PHNOM PENH- Tiger Air, the third airline operating scheduled flights between Phnom Penh and Singapore, started its service this morning. The 180-seat Airbus 320 touched down the airport’s runway at 07:25 am, with on-board the carrier’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Koay Peng Yen.
With the introduction of Tiger Air, Phnom Penh International Airport steps up its connectivity to/from Singapore by offering daily flights from three different airlines, including SilkAir and Jetstar.
Emmanuel Menanteau, CEO of Cambodia Airports, the developer and operator of Cambodia’s international airports said : “We are delighted to welcome Tiger Air, one of the fastest developing LCCs in the region. This morning’s flight was already fully-booked; it therefore bids well for the future. Tiger Air will definitely contribute in generating more traffic at Phnom Penh International Airport and in further raising Cambodia’s profile, especially to Singaporean visitors.”
The airport is to break the 2-million passenger mark by year end. To accommodate the steady increases, Cambodia Airports is launching in early 2013 an upgrading program to double the capacity of the platform to five million passengers. Cambodia Airports holds the concession for the development and the management of Cambodia’s three international airports of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
The shareholders of Cambodia Airports are France’s VINCI Airports (70%) and Muhibbah Masteron Cambodia (30%), a Malaysian-Cambodian joint venture. In 2011, the number of passengers going through the airports totaled 3.6 million. Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international Airport provide nearly 500 regular flights per week connecting the capital city to 26 destinations in Asia and Europe.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
