Travelers in the Greater Bay Area now have a good reason to celebrate the summer holiday season—Shenzhen has officially opened its first direct air route to Cambodia’s Siem Reap, home to the world-famous Angkor Wat.
On July 18, a Cambodia Angkor Air flight touched down at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, marking the debut of the only direct route from any of China’s four major hubs—not Beijing, not Shanghai, not Guangzhou, but Shenzhen—to this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Previously, travelers from Shenzhen had to transit through Phnom Penh to reach Angkor Wat, making this new connection a major boost for convenience and tourism.
If you’ve recently booked a flight to Siem Reap, chances are you could be confused. The city’s premier airport, Siem Reap International Airport (REP) opened in 1932 and has recently closed, making way for the new Angkor International Airport (SAI) which opened in 2023.
Image by That's
The Shenzhen–Siem Reap route operates one round-trip flight per week. Departures from Siem Reap are scheduled for every Thursday at 9.30pm, while return flights from Shenzhen take off on Fridays at 6.20am.
The service will be operated using Airbus A320/A321 aircraft, with a flight time of approximately 2.5 hours.
With this addition, Shenzhen Airport now connects to 16 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries via 17 destinations, offering more than 200 weekly outbound flights.
In the first half of this year alone, passenger traffic on Southeast Asian routes at Shenzhen Airport surpassed 1.5 million, accounting for over half of all international and regional travel.
The timing couldn’t be better: peak summer travel season is here, and this new route makes exploring the cultural treasures of Angkor Wat easier than ever for travelers in the GBA.
Planning a trip to Cambodia this summer?
Share your travel plans and follow ThatsGBA on WeChat for more updates on flights, destinations, and travel tips.
[Cover image courtesy of C Adventure]
0 User Comments