TWO Thai airlines have requested permission to begin flights to Siem Reap, according to Soy Sokhan, undersecretary of state at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

The Council of Ministers will make the final decision after the airlines’ submission are examined by experts, he said yesterday.

“The government will be pleased to give them licences if their documents follow the labour laws and the companies have clear policy,” he said.

Of the two airlines aiming to fly from Thailand to Siem Reap, Phuket Airlines is primarily a short-term leasing and charter service, according to its website, while Sunny Air is a start-up airline, according to travel magazine TR Weekly.

President of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents Ho Vandy said the government’s open skies policy provide an opportunity to attract more international airlines to compete.