A Lanmei Airlines flight to Bangkok with 200 passengers returned safely to Phnom Penh International Airport after experiencing technical problems shortly after take-off on Wednesday. No injuries were reported.

The pilots landed the plane safely after encountering a technical issue 30 minutes after take-off at around 9:50am.

“When the pilots realised something was wrong after taking off, they immediately landed. If they had decided to continue [to Bangkok], it would have been all right as well."

“But they returned for the sake of passenger safety,” Chea Aun, under-secretary of state and spokesman for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, told The Post on Thursday.

“The company arranged an evening flight for passengers for 5:30-6pm. We have never experienced such a problem before. It was just a technical problem,” said a representative of China’s Lanmei Airlines.

Aun said that small technical issues were commonplace around the world.

“Such safety measures [as returning to the airport] are normal. The company changed the flight for the passengers and there was no problem. There is nothing wrong with the engine. They have checked it and it works normally now,” he said.