Cambodia’s Angkor Air will launch a direct route connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Preah Sihanoukville from June 17, according to the State Secretariat on Civil Aviation of Cambodia.

Sinn Chanserey Vutha, the Secretariat’s spokesman, said the airline will conduct five roundtrip flights per week week, using ATR aircraft.

The firm began its marketing programmes and informed travel agencies about the new route, he added.

Director of Preah Sihanoukville’s Tourism Department Nou Sophal said the port city has welcomed an increasing number of Vietnamese visitors recently, hitting 11,200 in the first quarter of this year.

The route will help the Cambodian city attract not only Vietnamese arrivals but also those from other countries, he stressed.

The HCM City – Sihanoukville route is Angkor Air’s third route in Vietnam.

This is the second international route the airline has launched this year, after the Phnom Penh – Seoul of the Republic of Korea in April, raising its network to 10 routes to international destinations and two domestic destinations.

Established in 2009, Cambodia Angkor Air is a joint venture between Vietnam’s national flag carrier - Vietnam Airlines and the Royal Government of Cambodia, with the former holding 49 percent of the airline.

The carrier owns six aircraft, including two ATR airplanes and four Airbus A320 planes.

Angkor Air is planning to double its fleet to 12 jets by 2020 and launch new flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Korea and India to meet the increasing travel demands.

VNA