By KhmerizationSource: RFA
MPs from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) has asked Deputy PM Sok An to explain to parliament of the reasons why the national carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air (pictured), did not make direct flights to Sihanoukville in accordance to the agreement reached with the government.
Opposition politicians and private tourist operators are concerned that Cambodia Angkor Air's failures to fly to Sihanoukville have caused Cambodia to lose tourists to vietnam and the government to lose a large amount of revenue and tourist dollars. They are concerned that the nearby newly-developed tourism resorts such as Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island, known as Koh Tral in Cambodia, will will take all coastal tourists from Cambodia.
On 27th October, 6 MPs from the SRP had written to Deputy PM Sok An, accusing the airline of breaching the contract for failing to fly to Sihanoukville as agreed. Cambodia Angkor Air is 51% owned by the Cambodian government and 49% owned by Vietnam Airlines.
The oppositions had suspected that Cambodia Angkor Air's failures to fly to Sihanoukville resulted from pressures by Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnamese government who do not want to see Sihanoukville become a competitor with Vietnam's newly-developed tourist resorts in the Phu Quoc Island, which had just completed building an international airport.
Deputy PM Sok An cannot be reached for comment and Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said he and Mr. Sok An has not received the SRP's letter yet. However, Mr. Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said Cambodia Angkor Air has no plan to fly to Sihanoukville yet, but said the airlines had made some chartered flights to the port city ocassionally.
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