Angkor Airways to operate 7th Freedom of the Air in Haikou

(www.cambodiaangkorair.com)

On April 13, Cambodia’s Angkor Airways signed a contract with the Haikou city government to build an aviation operating base. After the pandemic is over, the company plans to open flights from Haikou to Northeast Asia, the Russian Far East, and major business travel cities in ASEAN countries.

The Seventh Freedom of the Air means that domestic civil aircraft can carry passengers and cargo between two other countries outside their home country without returning to the airline's home country between destinations. Hainan has opened the Seventh Freedom of the Air for passengers and freight, which is the highest level beyond China's existing bilateral air right arrangements, and also the highest level of open free trade port air rights in the world.

“In the past, direct flights to Hainan were operated under third and fourth air traffic rights. The Seventh Freedom of the Air is the most open air rights granted to Hainan by the central government of China. Every year, a large number of European and American tourists travel to Angkor Wat and Sihanoukville, so with the Seventh Freedom of the Air, we can easily bring about 7 million European and American tourists into Hainan. This will not only increase our economic benefits, but also bring Hainan a large number of European and American tourists, which offers the potential for achieving a win-win situation,” said Director and President of Angkor Airways China Operations David Zhan.

Zhan revealed that in the next five years, the company plans to invest nearly $500 million and base around 10 aircraft in Haikou. It will set up an aviation base in Haikou and explore the establishment of a Sino-Cambodian joint venture airline. In the future, it will also explore opening a Chinese settlement center in Haikou's Jiangdong New Area.

Angkor Airways is the national airline representing Cambodia's civil aviation industry. Zhan said that the investment in Hainan is, on the one hand, is mainly the result of Hainan’s Free Trade Port shipping policy. On the other hand, it is also due to the recommendation of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Haikou. “ Regarding this investment in Hainan, we have received the support of the Cambodian Civil Aviation Administration for the first time, and after months of negotiations, we have reached a lot of consensus on the Seventh Freedom of the Air with some destination countries, so the basic requirements for implementation have been met,” Zhan said.