Fostering connectivity between Phnom Penh, Fuzhou and Tokyo, and erecting a new channel in the “aerial silk road”

As Air Cambodia’s K6592 flight left Fuzhou for Tokyo in Japan on October 26, Fujian's first flight granted the Fifth Freedom of the Air, the "Phnom Penh-Fuzhou-Tokyo" route, was officially launched. The opening of the route will provide a new option for people-to-people and cargo flows between China, Cambodia and Japan, and add a crucial node in Fuzhou Airport’s efforts to build the “Aerial Silk Road”.

On 13:58 p.m. local time, the K6592 flight from Cambodia arrived at Fuzhou Changle International Airport. The flight took off anew in Fuzhou on 14:50 following passenger alighting and boarding, and the loading and off-loading of cargoes, and arrived smoothly at the destination at 19:00 Tokyo time. The maiden flight carried 14 passengers who departed from Phnom Penh for the final destination Tokyo, 65 passengers who went from Phnom Penh to Fuzhou, and 135 passengers who left Fuzhou and headed for Tokyo. The figures embody in a vivid way how the route excels in fostering connectivity between the three countries.

The Fifth Freedom of the Air, dubbed the air traffic right with the most economically material significance, refers to the right granted to an airline of one country to make a stopover in a third country, allowing it to load and unload passengers and cargo there. The newly-launched “Phnom Penh-Fuzhou-Tokyo” route leverages the strength to travel in one day to and fro between the three cities, among which Fuzhou functions as a transit hub.

According to the information provided, the route will not only facilitate the clustering of airport economic industries, but also align highly itself with Fuzhou’s goals of expanding the modern logistics sector and building an international aviation hub. Moreover, the opening of the route is a specific step that Fuzhou has taken to implement the Belt and Road Initiative and the integrated development strategy for “Silk Road Transportation”. (Text by Liu Jun and Chen Jian, Photo by Zheng Shuai)