Cambodia Airways has started off 2020 by adding another city to its growing list of new destinations, Chengdu in Western China.

The airline’s regular non-stop flight between Phnom Penh and Chengdu which was launched on January 8, is the carrier’s first route to Western China.

Chengdu is the fifth city in China that Cambodia Airways connects to, after Macau, Fuzhou, Wenzhou and Shenzhen.

“The newly launched route between Phnom Penh and Chengdu is filling the service gap in Western China and further improves the network layout of Cambodia Airways.

“It has also built a convenient air corridor between these two historical cities and economic centres.

“In the future, tourists will have a richer choice of travel destinations. New energy has been injected into the economic and trade exchanges between the two places,” said Cambodia Airways in a statement issued on January 8.

The first Cambodian Airways flight lands at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport after departing from Phnom Penh airport.

Cambodia Airways Co., Ltd., which operates the airline, will deploy Airbus A319 and operate thrice a week flight to the new destination.

Established in 2017, the company launched its inaugural flight on July 10, 2018, flying from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

Currently, the company’s fleet consists of Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, serving several domestic and international destinations.

Chengdu is one of the three most-populous cities in Western China (the other two being Chongqing and Xi’an) and it is also part of the West Triangle Economic Zone designated by China as a strategic investment corridor in the country.

The Panda Park is a major tourist attraction in Chengdu. Photo: AFP

“Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan Province of China. It is known as “The Land of Abundance”, an important political, commercial, logistics centre and a comprehensive transportation hub in Western China.

“Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport’s passenger throughput has exceeded 50 million in 2018,” added Cambodia Airways.

The rising air connectivity between Cambodia and China will further boost the Kingdom’s tourism sector.

About 2.6 million Chinese tourists visited Cambodia last year and the Tourism Ministry is expecting to woo three million tourists in 2020.

Weekly about 262 flights arrive in Cambodia from China. Chengdu boasts the popular tourist destination - the Panda Park.