Phnom Penh: Cambodia and China anticipate that starting in early February 2023, flights between the two countries will resume at a rate of 30% to 40% of what they were prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019.

The two countries have expectations after agreeing to resume normal flights in accordance with bilateral agreements, with no further limits or restrictions on flights.

Mao Havnall, Minister in Charge of the Secretariat of State for Civil Aviation, said that before the COVID-19 outbreak, there were a total of 415 air flights between the two countries per week.

At that time, there were 22 airlines, including 16 Chinese airlines and 6 Cambodian airlines, connecting 37 cities, of which 3 were on the Cambodian side and 34 on the Chinese side.

He stated that during the previous COVID-19 pandemic, there were only a few flights starting April 28, 2021, with only one flight per week starting June 21, 2021, and only two flights per week starting February 23, 2022. Starting July 1, 2022, there were 6 flights per week; it was increased to 30 flights per week starting August 19, 2022, and it continued to increase to 60 flights per week by November 8, 2022.

The Minister in Charge of the Secretariat of State for Civil Aviation confirmed that in 2021, China has provided Cambodia with three short-term civil aviation technical scholarships at the Civil Aviation University of China in 3 following courses: Flight Preparation Course, Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Courses, and radar management Course.

In 2022, the Civil Aviation University of China will continue to offer two short-term scholarships, including Flight Data Analysis and Aviation Information Management.