The civil aviation authority in Cambodia today issued an order prohibiting all flights from flying over zones that are currently affected by its conflict with Thailand.
The Cambodian state secretariat of civil aviation (SSCA) said all airlines had been informed to avoid flying over conflict zones, Xinhua reported.
“All flights have been instructed to avoid flying over these airspaces, and the planes must not fly lower than 1,200m above sea level,” SSCA chief Sinn Chanserey Vutha said in an audio message released to the media.
He added that the measures were to ensure flight operations and the safety of the planes and passengers.
Vutha said as of 10am local time (9am, Malaysian time) today, international flights from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and Siem Reap to Bangkok were operating as usual, as airlines have altered their routes to avoid prohibited airspaces.
Armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers in border areas broke out on Thursday in the Cambodian provinces of Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear.
At a press briefing today, the Cambodian defence ministry’s undersecretary of state and spokesman, Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, said the conflict has spread to Pursat province as of this morning.
