The New Siem Reap – Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens for operation on October 2023

Siem Reap is a popular tourist city famous for its 400-hectare Angkor Archaeological Park. Every day, hundreds of people wake up early to witness the sunrise behind the lotus-shaped towers of Angkor Wat.

With the tourism industry slowly recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, and to preserve the Angkor temples, a new airport has been built to handle the expected increase in tourist numbers. This will significantly affect tourists visiting Siem Reap and those planning to travel to Cambodia in the future.

The New Siem Reap Airport. Credit: China State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

The new Siem Reap airport is called Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport. The airport will be identified by its IATA code SAI and ICAO code VDSA. It is located 18km northeast of Damdek, 40km east of Angkor Wat, and 50km southeast of Siem Reap. It will replace the current Siem Reap International Airport as the city’s main airport and will serve as the main airport for the province as well as Western Cambodia. It will also become a key airport in Cambodia. The airport is expected to open on October 16, 2023.

The new Siem Reap airport will be Cambodia’s largest and capable of serving 7 million passengers initially, 10 million by 2030, and 20 million by 2050. Cargo capacity is expected to increase sixfold in the next 30 years, from 10,000 tons to 60,000 tons. Moreover, the new airport will have 38 gates and will be able to welcome large passenger planes like the Airbus A-340-300 and A350-900, as well as the Boeing B777-200/300ER and B747-300/400. This will increase Siem Reap’s capacity to operate direct flights from various destinations.