Phnom Penh Airport celebrates the arrival of the first covid-19 vaccines in Cambodia

On 7 February 2021, a plane from China landed at the international airport with 600,000 doses of Sinopharm’s covid-19 vaccine on board. This first shipment is a donation from the Chinese government. To mark this important event, Cambodian Prime Minister HUN Sen presided over a ceremony under the airport’s iconic Royal Canopy.

Cambodia has one of the lowest rates of covid-19 infection in the world. To date, Cambodian authorities have not reported any deaths and only 20 cases are active out of 474 reported since the pandemic emerged in early 2020.

In line with the health security measures put in place by the Cambodian authorities and as part of the “Protect Us” campaign deployed by VINCI Airports throughout its network, the three international airports of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville have put in place a complete set of health measures based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

Last November, thanks to this strong commitment, the airports received airport health accreditation after being audited by the Airports Council International (ACI) teams. In the ASEAN region, they were among the first hubs to be accredited, along with the major regional hubs of Singapore, Jakarta and Manila. In the category of small and medium-sized airports (less than 15 million passengers per year), Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville airports topped the podium.

Alain BRUN, CEO of Cambodia Airports, the company that develops and manages Cambodia’s international airport network, said: “Today’s delivery of the first batch of covid-19 vaccine demonstrates the vital contribution of airports to the country’s fight against the pandemic. From day one, our company has ensured that our facilities remain open and fully operational to accommodate passenger and cargo flights, fulfilling a vital humanitarian and economic role.