Cambodia opens a new airport to serve Angkor Wat as it seeks to boost tourist arrivals

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Commercial operations have begun at Cambodia’s newest and biggest airport, designed to serve as an upgraded gateway to the country’s major tourist attraction, the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex in the northwestern province of Siem Reap. The Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport was built at a cost of about $1.1 billion. It replaces an older airport that is being retired in part because of fear that vibrations from frequent flights were damaging the temples’ foundations. The new airport can handle 7 million passengers a year, with plans to augment it to handle 12 million passengers annually from 2040.