The Editor,

Now that the international airport service charges in Phnom Penh are amongst the

most expensive in the world, the charge for foreigners ($20) is equivalent to 28.5%

of a single flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Could the airport management company answer a few questions:

1. What is the justification for charging more than double the service charges in

   Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Vientiane and many others?

2. Considering that most passengers walk to and from the plane and there are no

   free services attached to the airport (transfer buses, etc), where is all the money

   going?

3. Why do Cambodians get a 25% discount? After all, poor people do not travel by

   air. The normal mode of transport for many foreigners traveling to the airport is

   a moto-taxi, while

4. Cambodians generally arrive in chauffeur driven Mercs or Landcruisers.

5. Are foreigners in effect subsidizing the looters?

6. Will the new (probably temporary) charges ensure that the telephones will be

   in working order and that there will be water in the toilets?

7. Will there now be free drinking water available, as there is in most international

   airports?

8. If we refuse to pay this extortionate charge what action will the airport management

   company take?

- David Hayter, Phnom Penh.