India’s largest carrier IndiGo has announced flights to Siem Reap in Cambodia from Kolkata. This will be the second connection between India and Cambodia, with Air Cambodia operating to New Delhi from Cambodia’s Phnom Penh. Flights begin November 13, 2025 and operate three times a week, with IndiGo deploying its mainstay the Airbus A320neo on the route.
6E1655 CCU0150 – 0620SAI
6E1656 SAI0720 – 0855CCU
Flights operate thrice a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays
While Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia, Siem Reap is the tourist hub and tourism from India has grown manifolds over the last few years. With close proximity to Angkor and many other cultural sights, it has been a tourist magnet in the region and has also seen connectivity go up. Apart from the Angkor Wat, Tonle Sap – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia is a major tourist attraction. The city has a history which dates back to the 1500s. People thronging Angkor by day and the city escapes like Pub Town by night has been the major economic driver in Siem Reap.
Siem Reap has a new airport (IATA:SAI) built by a Chinese company on a Build – Operate – Transfer basis. This was built to replace the older airport (IATA:REP) since it was too close to Angkor Wat, a UNESCO world heritage site and had little scope to expand. India and Cambodia have strong diplomatic relations with India having an embassy at Phnom Penh, while Cambodia has an embassy in New Delhi. Apart from tourism, the flight will cater to the Indian diaspora and Persons of Indian Origin in Cambodia. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has been involved in restoration of the complex at Angkor Wat, amongst other things.
Addition to Buddhist circuit flights
IndiGo has been working towards flights to the Buddhist circuit with flights to Vietnam, Myanmar and China pre-COVID. While flights to Vietnam have returned, China is in the offing and Myanmar may take time due to the political situation in Myanmar. Cambodia, which is predominantly Buddhist, adds to the list. IndiGo flies to Gaya and connects passengers from these countries to Gaya, where Gautam Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
Network Thoughts
With the addition of Cambodia, IndiGo will now operate to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in addition to Cambodia. Flights to Myanmar could restart when the political situation improves and the Philippines definitely remains on their radar. That would leave Lao and Brunei amongst the ASEAN members to be not connected by IndiGo. Royal Brunei flies to Chennai, while India and Laos remain unconnected.
IndiGo’s Vietnam foray from Kolkata had been aimed at having a shorter flight and funnelling traffic from Delhi and Mumbai via Kolkata. Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines bombarded the metro cities with flights exhausting all the rights while IndiGo remained a small player in the India – Vietnam market. Such a risk is not seen with Cambodia, with the local Cambodian carriers not big enough to take on IndiGo and the market vastly different than Vietnam.
IndiGo India – ASEAN network
This flight further adds to the dense India – ASEAN network of IndiGo. which will now see 10 points, with Myanmar operations suspended. Interestingly, Air India maintains a skeletal presence in Myanmar with flights which sometimes run weekly and sometimes fortnightly.
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