The Phnom Penh Airport Guide! In my old life I would be in an airport at least once a week, not so now. The last time I was even in an airport was February of 2020 when I took a fateful trip from Aukland to Saigon. I then spent a week in Saigon before an even more fateful trip, a bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh. I have been living in Cambodia ever since…..
To read about street food in Saigon click here .
What’s the story with Cambodia Airports
I didn’t learn all that much from the Khmer Times, but I did learn that Cambodia has 3 international airports, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh. There is also a 4th one being built by a sanctioned Chinese company in Koh Kong, literally one of the worst place to visit in Cambodia.
To read about Koh Kong Airport click here
To read a guide to Koh Kong click here
What is Cambodias Airport Code for Phnom Penh – it is PNH Airport, just in case it comes up in a pub quiz.
Where is PNH Airport
The old, or current airport is located in the outskirts in the west of Phnom Penh, but much like Siem Reap is having a new international airport built. The country aims to be able to survive 50 million passengers by 2050. Pre-Covid Cambodia was quite the tourism hot-spot.
Traveling to Phnom Penh International Airport from downtown will cost you about $3 on Grab for a small Tuk-Tuk, if you have luggage a bigger one will be about $5, or a car $7. Don’t book expensive hotel transfers that can around the $20-30 mark.
How can you fly from Cambodia during Coronavirus?
Flying anywhere during Covid-19 is not easy, or fun and unfortunately whether you have been vaccinated, or not counts for zip when you want to leave Cambodia. Everyone that flies will need a negative PCR taken within 72 hours of your flight. This means traveling to a specific hospital, waiting around people with jumpsuits for hours and then getting tested. The next day you pick up the results praying you don’t get a false positive. The cost to get a PCR test to fly in Cambodia is $130. You then get a certificate that allows you to be able to fly – no certificate no fly.
Phnom Airport Guide – During Coronavirus
Flights have continued from PNH Airport since the pandemic began, but as you can imagine they are not exactly frequent. The airport largely resembles a ghost town. There were two flights, one to Korea, where people were just wearing masks, the other to China looked like a scene from a ET, you know when they have caught him?
At first I thought it was compulsory for everyone on the flight to dressed like over-the-top idiots, but as you will see from my expertly taken photo, not everyone was dressed like that, just 99 percent of them.
What is there to eat and drink at Phnom Penh International Airport?
I was not flying, so did not get through to departures, where there is at least a shop selling water by all accounts. Downstairs though the previous dining area was very much closed, with the donut shop looking very lonely and depressing.
In fact there was only one shop open, with the seller being all to sell me stuff. The shop was like a supermarket display counter for people that plan for nuclear holocaust, or living on a deserted island.
To read about living on a deserted island click here.
So overall on the Phnom Penh Airport Guide? I have actually spoken to the manager of the airport, mr Herve Bonin, who assures myself and everyone that the airport is ready to welcome back tourists. I’m sure he is right and it is impressive even to see it opening and functioning.
To read about which countries are open to tourism click here .
It is though a stark reminder on just how crazy things are right now and have Covid-19 has truly fucked with the world. We’d hope for at least a smatter of normality in 2021, but we will be lucky to see anything vaguely like normal by the middle of 2022. Not the best time to be a travel agent…..