Confirm Cambodia Flights Before Booking as Routes to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap Cut

Cambodia's $2.3 billion Techo International Airport has given the country the aviation infrastructure it wanted, with room for up to 15 million passengers a year. The problem now is demand: air passenger numbers fell in 2026 and several international routes have been cut, suspended or halved.

Key facts

• Techo International Airport, which opened in 2025, can handle 13 million to 15 million passengers a year.
• Cambodia received about 3.71 million air passengers in the first seven months of 2026, down 9 percent from the same period in 2025.
• Techo handled about 656,000 arrivals in the first five months of 2026, down almost 26 percent; Siem Reap recorded about 274,000, down 11 percent.
• Sihanoukville receives just five flights a week, compared with more than 700 at Techo.
• Etihad and Turkish Airlines have launched services to Phnom Penh, while other routes have been withdrawn or reduced.

How busy are Cambodia's airports?

Between January and July 2026, Cambodia handled around 3.71 million air passengers, a 9 percent drop year on year, according to figures cited by the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA). Flights fell by about 1 percent to 37,248, while air cargo rose 21 percent to around 57,103 tonnes.

Passenger arrivals fell at both main gateways. Techo International Airport handled about 656,000 arrivals in the first five months of 2026, down almost 26 percent from a year earlier, and Siem Reap recorded about 274,000, a decline of 11 percent. Cambodia's three international airports together processed just 2.4 million passengers in the first four months of 2026.

Which flights have been added or cut?

Etihad and Turkish Airlines both started flying to Phnom Penh over the past year. Several other routes did not last: Firefly launched a Kuala Lumpur–Siem Reap service in November 2025 but pulled out three months later, IndiGo dropped its Siem Reap–Kolkata route in July, and Lao Airlines suspended its Siem Reap service. Thai AirAsia has cut its Bangkok–Phnom Penh flights from 14 to seven per week.

SSCA figures show around 33 airlines connecting Cambodia to ASEAN, East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. In the first half of 2026, 29 international airlines and four domestic airlines were operating in the country.

Why is the new capacity going unfilled?

Dutch tourism expert Peter Brongers said Cambodia has largely closed its airport infrastructure gap but now faces a shortage of passengers. He also pointed to weak domestic connections: travellers arriving at Techo International Airport have no straightforward way to reach the southern coast the same day, with Sihanoukville, the islands, Kampot and Kep reachable only after three or four hours by car.

Regional competition is intensifying. Brongers said Vietnam handled 45 million passengers in the first half of 2026 and overtook Thailand in August by scheduled seats, while Phu Quoc is adding a second runway and terminal, with Changi Airports International advising, to reach 20 million passengers a year ahead of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2027.

What is being done?

SSCA spokesperson Sin Chansereyvutha outlined eight measures, including a National Route Development Strategy covering priority markets such as ASEAN, China, South Korea, Japan and India, temporary route-development incentives, closer tourism and aviation coordination, commercial partnerships such as codeshare and interline agreements, fleet modernisation, lower structural costs, investment in pilots and engineers, and a liberal air-service policy. No timetable for these measures has been announced.

National carrier Air Cambodia, rebranded from Cambodia Angkor Air in January 2025, plans to expand its fleet and network. Vice CEO Lim Kao said the airline aims for around 33 aircraft by the early 2030s, has 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on firm order and an agreement with COMAC for 20 C909 aircraft, and plans to train 200 Cambodian-licensed aircraft engineers over the next five years.

What this means for travellers

Travellers should check that their chosen route is still operating before booking, particularly services to Siem Reap and flights to Sihanoukville, which currently receives only five flights a week. Anyone heading from Phnom Penh to the southern coast should allow for a road journey of three or four hours, as no coordinated domestic connections are described.

The next developments to watch are the proposed route-development measures and Air Cambodia's fleet and network expansion, for which no start dates have been given.