Sky Angkor Airlines said yesterday that a plan to lease two Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft from a Russian airline has been postponed, as the company has to sort out regulatory issues such as which aviation authority would be responsible in the event of a mishap.

Steve Kim, vice president of Sky Angkor Air (SAA), said the airline signed an agreement in late August with leasing company Ilyushin Finance & Co to wet-lease two aircraft from Russian airline Red Wings.

However, the company has yet to test the two aircraft, which combined with the regulatory issues has pushed back the expected delivery date until next December.

“Cambodia wants the authority to handle this issue and the Russians want to keep it under their authority,” he said. “We need more time to discuss and both sides understand the issue.”

The Korean-Cambodian airline wants to lease new aircraft to supplement its route expansion, both for short distance domestic and international flights.

The airline, Kim said, will look to use the wet-leased aircraft to fly from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to more destinations in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.

“The small business jets with 100 seats will be used in the region, whereas our existing A320 and A321 aircraft, which can carry more than 180 passengers, will operate international, long-distance routes.”

Sky Angkor Airlines currently has five A320 aircraft and one A321 aircraft, and operates scheduled flights from Siem Reap to cities in South Korea and China. It also operates a charter service.