Cambodia is expected to have direct air links with all Asean member states this year, with the exception of only Brunei, as two new airlines connecting the Kingdom to the Philippines and Indonesia will launch this year.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced it will launch a flight service to Phnom Penh from Manila in April.

Last week, a delegation from Indonesian low-cost airline Citilink met Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon and unveiled plans to open the direct air route, connecting the two countries during the second half of this year.

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation spokesperson Chea Aun on Sunday said with the two expected air routes in operation, Cambodia will be connected directly by air service with all the countries of the Asean bloc, except for Brunei.

“When there is a direct air route available, there will be more inflow of tourists at first and later businesses will also come,” he said, adding that the absence of direct air routes make tourists and businesses depend on a third country for connecting flights, consuming time and money.

PAL is scheduled to launch the Phnom Penh-Manila flight on April 1. It will operate five times weekly from Monday to Saturday. The first flight, PR521 will depart from Manila at 10:10pm and will be scheduled to arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport at 11:45pm.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/two-more-asean-direct-flights-near