Qatar debuts direct Cambodia air link

• Published: 20 Feb 2013
• Bangkok Post

Qatar Airways on Wednesday became the first commercial airline to directly connect the Middle East with Cambodia.

Qatar Airways now operates daily flights from Doha to Phnom Penh via Ho Chi Minh City.

The Doha-based airline's maiden Cambodia flight, QR602, landed at Phnom Penh International Airport on Wednesday afternoon from Ho Chi Minh City.

The airline operates daily flights from Doha to Phnom Penh via the southern Vietnamese city.

It calls Phnom Penh "an inspiring example of old meets new" due to rich culture and heritages, and the fast paced development of Cambodia.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker told the Phnom Penh Post that the flights will provide increased opportunities for travellers from Europe, the Middle East and North America.

"As we continue our aggressive worldwide expansion programme, we are delighted to offer our customers a much awaited connection to one of Asia's most popular and well-loved destinations," he said in a statement.

The Cambodian Tourism Ministry hoped the new air link would draw more tourists and investors from the Middle East to Cambodia.

"We're really happy to have the flight connection despite their being a low tourism contributor at the moment. But I can expect we will also get a greater increase in trade and investment from them because they are interested in our agricultural sector," director of statistics Kong Sophearak told the Phnom Penh Post.