Aviation revenues have been released by government officials who were hesitant to reveal details but said yesterday the figures had increased by about three per cent.

Mao Havannal, secretary of state for the Civil Aviation Secretariat, said after yesterday’s opening of a seminar on aviation insurance that the state’s income from aviation was about three per cent higher for the first six months compared with the corresponding period last year.

Havannal did not elaborate, saying: “I didn’t remember any specific figures, but we saw growth,” adding: “In the first half of 2012, I saw growth of about three per cent. We hope to see aviation revenues continue to increase every year.”

The assumption was that state revenue for Cambodia was about US$7 million for the first six months of 2012, although the combined annual income was about $15 million, he said.

The income is generated through the rental of office space to other companies, the air traffic control service and airport fees, which of late have come under criticism from AirAsia CEO and founder Tony Fernandes for being too high.

Fernandes has also criticised Airports of Thailand for its landing fees, in an attempt to receive lower fees as Thai AirAsia is required to move from Suvarnabhumi airport, to the southeast of Bangkok, to the old airport, Don Mueang, which is north of the city.

No airport officials could be reached for comment or to verify the estimate provided by the government.

According to a report by the Ministry of Tourism, international arrivals in Cambodia increased nearly 27 per cent to over 1.7 million tourists, of whom 850,879 arrived by air, an increase of 19.1 per cent for the first half of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]