Phnom Penh International Airport – Surprisingly modern and efficient!

Phnom Penh was once known as the "Pearl of Asia" but regional and domestic conflicts meant that the city and the country, of which it is the capital, remained untouched by tourism and air travel for decades.

A massive influx of tourists to the city, often enroute to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, has led to a vast modernization of Phnom Penh’s airport albeit courtesy of a private French company.

The destruction to the airport that took place during the country’s 1997 coup has been replaced with air travel facilities that put neighbouring countries to shame.

Formally known as Pochentong International Airport and located six miles outside of Phnom Penh the airport is fully equipped with restaurants, bars, duty free, a post office and even wireless internet.

Immigration is easy going even if its does suffer from jams during high traffic hours.

The international terminal has a capacity of two million that it is quickly reaching due to the rising interest in the increasingly stable and foreigner friendly nation.

Virtually every month another airline is added to the airport’s roster that at present includes AirAsia, Angkor Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Southern Airlines, EVA Air, Far Eastern Air Transport, Jetstar Asia, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, President Airlines, PMT Air, Royal Khmer Airlines, Royal Phnom Penh Airways, Shanghai Airlines, Siem Reap Airways, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Thai Airways, Transmile Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.

Thailand, China, Vietnam, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Laos are the most popular destinations for onward bound travelers.

The few times that I have passed through this airport I have always been pleasantly surprised by the staff’s courteous and helpful nature, even at Immigration where it is common to see actual smiles.

It is by far one of the best smaller airports in the regions.

PMT air disaster in Cambodia

Some while ago I made a semi-mocking post about PMT Air commenting about the suitability of their company name and slogan.

My reservations about the company seem to have been proved correct with the recent crash of their Siem Reap to Sihanoukville flight on 25 June 2007 in the Kom Chhay mountain range in the province of Kampot.

Bad weather was initially listed as the reason for the crash but information since reported indicates that severe pilot error was the main cause with the pilot ignoring warnings from traffic control about the low altitude at which the plane was flying over the mountain range because “he knew the area and knew what he was doing.”

The plane was an Antov AN-24, a model that has been out of production for three decades and does not hold a great reputation.

Search teams took two days to find the crash site in the mountainous jungle and eventually confirmed the death of all on board. In total 13 South Koreans, 3 Czechs, 5 Cambodians and 1 Uzbekistani were among the fatalities.

Two of them were children.

This is the first commercial airline disaster in Cambodia since the 1990’s and has caused a major stir in a country whose middle and upper classes have only recently become affluent enough to enjoy the pleasures of air travel.

To date no sanctions, penalties or fines have been made against PMT Air and while they have suspended flights inside Cambodia they continue to operate international flights to a number of destinations.