UAE Emirates to fly to Phnom Penh from July 1

Emirates Airline, the Dubai-based international carrier of the United Arab Emirates, said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement that it will start flying to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, from July 1.

The indirect flight from Dubai via Yangon to Phnom Penh will be done with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two class configuration, said the government-controlled carrier.

Emirates Airline said the rise of tourism in Cambodia triggered its decision to add the capital to its networks.

"There were more than 4.7 million foreign tourist arrivals to Cambodia in 2015, with a forecast to rise to 8 million by 2020," said the airline.

The carrier will also introduce a direct, non-stop route between Dubai and Vietnam's capital Hanoi on the same day, it added.

As a geographical focal point, Dubai International Airport has become the busiest civil aviation hub in the world, connecting major destinations between the east and west, such as the flight from Dubai to Beijing, Johannesburg and London.

"Emirates has to expand where the growth opportunities are, and these opportunities we see in Asia," said Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum. Endit