Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Low-cost airline AirAsia Bhd is reportedly planning to set up a subsidiary company in Cambodia to cater to the anticipated rise in the number of passengers travelling to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville from Malaysia.

This follows earlier news reports last week that AirAsia will start selling tickets for a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville, with the first flight scheduled to take off on Aug 9 this year.

The subsidiary would be named AirAsia Cambodia, Cambodia news publication Khmer Times said in its news report today, citing Public Works and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol.

It was reported that the idea of forming AirAsia Cambodia was raised by AirAsia chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes in his meeting with Cambodia's president Hun Sen during the World Economic Forum on Asean last week.

Chanthol said the budget carrier's decision to form a subsidiary in Cambodia "reflected the aviation industry's confidence in the country's open skies policy", adding that the proposal has been submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval.

At the moment, AirAsia flies daily from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Fernandes had previously acknowledged the potential of Cambodia's international airports in handling more arrivals from overseas, and opined that while increasing routes within Asean could boost tourism, it would also help small businesses expand regionally.

At 12.25pm, AirAsia's share price stood at RM3.58, valuing the group at RM11.9 billion.

 

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