PHNOM PENH: The international airports in Phnom Penh capital and the provinces of Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk received a total of 2.48 million passengers in the first half of 2023, a skyrocket increase of 270 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a report of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

From January to June of this year, the three international airports welcomed 24,725 flights, a year-on-year surge of 147.6 percent, the report pointed out.

The three airports handled some 24,000 tonnage of air freight during the six-month period, a decrease of 17 percent compared to the first half of 2022.

Cambodia recorded some 2.57 million international visitors in the first six months of this year, a sharp increase of 409 percent from 506,762 over the same period last year, the Tourism Ministry reported last week.

Reconnecting flights and opening new air routes contributed to the remarkable growth of air passengers and foreign tourists to Cambodia, said H.E. Top Sopheak, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Tourism.

“The reconnection of air flights and the increase in routes, particularly direct flights to Cambodia, have made it easier for passengers to travel to Cambodia,” he stressed.