Air France's plane touches down at PP airport after 37-year hiatus

01 Apr, 2011
Source: Xinhua

A plane of the French flag carrier, Air France, landed at the Phnom Penh International Airport on Thursday afternoon after a 37-year hiatus on flight connection between the two nations.

At the airport, the Air France's Airbus A340 was welcomed by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Council of Ministers Sok An, and other senior government officials, diplomats, and students.

Thierry Mariana, secretary of state in charge of French Transportation, also traveled with the plane to join the inauguration of flight resumption between Phnom Penh and Paris- Charles de Gaulle.

Speaking at the welcoming ceremony, Sok An said that the Air France aircraft criss-crossed the skies over Cambodia between 1947 and 1974, and halted its flight in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power.

"The resumption of Air France to Phnom Penh today reflected the confidence of both local and foreign investors in Cambodia's political stability and economic growth," he said. "This can be considered as the re-start of good relations on air transports between Cambodia and France as well as with other countries in Europe."

Including the Air France, there have been 20 international airlines companies operating regular flights in Cambodia and about 10-15 companies have been operating charter flights to Cambodia's three international airports -- each in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap province and Preah Sihanouk province, added Sok An.

Thierry Mariana said that the resumption of flight between Phnom Penh and Paris reflects closer cooperation, and it would bridge better relations on trades and investments between the two nations.

"The new flight is a part of the integration among the countries in the Mekong sub-region," he said, adding that to date, more than 50 French companies have opened branches in Cambodia.

Pierre Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France-KLM, said the launch of this route represents a new landmark in relations between Cambodia and France.

"In putting Phnom Penh only a few hours away from Paris, Air France hopes to give new impetus to the economic vitality of Cambodia, facilitating exchanges of business leaders, and enabling French and European firms to develop their presence, their operations and their trade with their Cambodian counterparts," he said.

Meanwhile, he announced that the company plans in May to replace the Airbus A340 with a Boeing 777, with a greater capacity.

"I want to underscore the fact that we return to Phnom Penh is part of a broader development strategy for Air France-KLM in Asia, where our strong points are the Mekong region and neighboring China, in particular," he said.

The three weekly flights between Phnom Penh and Paris will be operated via Bangkok by Airbus A340 equipped with 275 seats and subsequently by Boeing 777-200 equipped with 309 seats in May.

The flights will contribute to the development of tourism sector, said Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon, adding that last year, Cambodia received 2.5 million foreign tourists. Of the figure, 489,400 were from European countries including 113,285 from France.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the working group for government and private sector on tourism, and managing director of representative of tourism industry in Cambodia said, currently, there are three kinds of flights flying to Cambodia that are direct flights from foreign countries to Phnom Penh; direct flights from foreign countries to Siem Reap; and domestic flights from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

He said the new arrival of direct flight from France to Cambodia Thursday by Air France is a good sign for Cambodia. It indicates a clear potential of tourism boost for Cambodia.

Source: Xinhua