Aviation History
Cambodian civil aviation began under French colonial administration, with a national Civil Aviation Bureau established in 1955 and the country joining the Chicago Convention in 1956, the same year its first national airline, Air Cambodge, was formed with French assistance. Civil aviation was suspended during the Khmer Rouge period and the following conflict, resuming only in the early 1980s, and the flag carrier was twice rebuilt and twice collapsed: as Royal Air Cambodge (1994–2001) and then as Cambodia Angkor Air, a 2009 joint venture with Vietnam Airlines that later rebranded as Air Cambodia. In 2025 the country opened Techo International Airport near Phnom Penh, a large-scale replacement hub reflecting the postwar growth of Cambodia's tourism-driven aviation sector.
Cambodia set up a Civil Aviation Bureau under the Ministry of Public Works and Telecommunication, its first formal civil aviation regulator.
Cambodia signed the Chicago Convention and established Air Cambodge as its national airline, with French assistance and Cambodian majority ownership.
Civil aviation operations were halted amid the Khmer Rouge takeover and subsequent conflict, with commercial flying not resuming until the early 1980s.
Following the restoration of the monarchy, the national carrier was reorganized as Royal Air Cambodge, partnering with Malaysia Airlines for aircraft and technical support.
The airline shut down on 16 October 2001 after accumulating losses exceeding $30 million, worsened by a post-9/11 drop in passenger demand.
A new flag carrier began operations on 28 July 2009 as a joint venture between the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines, filling the void left since 2001.
Cambodia Angkor Air adopted the new name Air Cambodia, with ownership having shifted from Vietnam Airlines to other investors in preceding years.
A large new airport near Phnom Penh, designed for up to 50 million annual passengers at full build-out, began commercial operations in September 2025, replacing Phnom Penh International Airport as the country's main hub.
Air Cambodge · Royal Air Cambodge · Cambodia Angkor Air / Air Cambodia · Sky Angkor Airlines · Cambodia Airways
Compiled from public encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, aviation trade press); the 2025 Air Cambodia rebrand and Techo International Airport opening are very recent developments and details may still be evolving.
Aviation Firsts
Phnom Penh International Airport (Pochentong) — Phnom Penh (1959): Earliest aviation facilities on the site date to 1924 under French colonial administration (later expanded by Japanese forces during WWII); officially inaugurated as a modern international airport on 19 January 1959 after construction beginning December 1956, jointly financed by France and Cambodia. Closed to passenger traffic 8 September 2025, with traffic moved to the new Techo International Airport the following day. No source explicitly calls this Cambodia's "oldest airport" in comparison with other Cambodian airports (e.g. Siem Reap), so it is reported as the best-documented early airport, not a declared national superlative. · Cambodge Mag ↗
Royal Air Cambodge (1956): Founded 1956; renamed Air Cambodge 1970–1975 (Khmer Republic era); reformed under the original name in the early 1990s with operations resuming 1994, partnered with/leased aircraft from Malaysia Airlines. Ceased operating 16 October 2001. No French colonial-era airline predating 1956 was found documented for Cambodia specifically — an acknowledged research gap, not a confirmed absence. · VJ ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
No documented foreign entrant found. Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville airports are run under a concession by Cambodia Airports (SCA), a joint venture of VINCI Airports (France, 70%) and Muhibbah Masteron (Malaysia, 30%) since 1995 — an airport management/operations concession, explicitly excluded even though foreign-owned, since it's not established as a dedicated ground handler. No separate foreign ground-handling company (Swissport, dnata, Menzies, etc.) could be confirmed as operating in Cambodia.