VZCZCXRO5561
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0936 3251050
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201050Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0087
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0137
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000936 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AND CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, DEPARTMENT PASS 
FOR FAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR PGOV CASC CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIAN AIR CARRIER BANNED FROM EU 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The European Commission's recent decision 
to ban Siem Reap Airways from operating within Europe 
highlights significant concerns about air safety conditions 
in Cambodia.  Future USG assistance targeting the civil 
aviation authorities could help to improve Cambodia's ability 
to exercise air safety oversight.  The Mission is reviewing 
its policy towards domestic air travel and will consult with 
Consular Affairs.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The European Commission (EC) announced November 14 a 
ban on Cambodia's Siem Reap Airways International (SRA) (a 
subsidiary of Bangkok Airways (BA)) from European Union (EU) 
airspace due to findings that "the airline does not operate 
in compliance with the Cambodian safety regulations nor does 
it meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO).  Significant concerns have also been 
expressed by ICAO with regard to the ability of Cambodian 
civil aviation authorities to implement and enforce the 
international safety standards." 
 
¶3. (U) The ban follows an ICAO safety oversight audit 
conducted in late 2007 which found that Cambodia was only 27 
percent compliant with international aviation rules and 
regulations, one of the lowest scores ever.  Cambodian 
authorities were presented with an opportunity to present 
their action plan and progress in implementing corrective 
measures in July and at a November 4 meeting; however, the EC 
deemed Cambodia's efforts to correct the safety deficiencies 
to be insufficient.  The measure seems mostly symbolic as 
Siem Reap Airways does not currently fly to any EU 
destinations.  The airlines operates domestic flights between 
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and also flies internationally to 
Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. 
 
¶4. (SBU) SRA countered on November 17 that the EU ban does 
not apply to its aircraft because none of its planes are 
registered in Cambodia.  Rather, all SRA aircraft are 
registered in Thailand and wet leased from BA (which provides 
aircraft, crew, and maintenance.)  SRA General Manager Santi 
Laonikakara shared with emboffs a November letter from the 
Thai Department of Civil Aviation asserting their 
jurisdiction over the leased aircraft.  Santi claimed all SRA 
leased aircraft travel back to Bangkok every three to five 
days and undergo regular maintenance there. 
 
¶5. (SBU) However, according to the EC representative in Phnom 
Penh responsible for this issue, the ban applies to all 
aircraft for which the Cambodian authorities issue an Air 
Operating Certificate (AOC), regardless of where the 
airplanes are registered.  Under international law, the 
authority which issues the operating certificate is 
responsible for exercising safety oversight.  Foreign 
airlines, such as Singapore Airlines or Korean Air, operate 
in Cambodia through Air Service Agreements or Memorandums of 
Understanding and are registered in their home countries, 
with operating certificates from those jurisdictions. 
Cambodian authorities do not have safety oversight 
responsibilities for these airlines. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The main issue appears to be of a more technical 
nature regarding the wet lease arrangement between SRA and 
BA.  The Director General of Civil Aviation, Mr. Chea Aun, 
explained that BA and SRA failed to clearly identify and 
distinguish which BA aircraft were to be used by SRA.  There 
are concerns that the resulting blurring of responsibility 
for oversight has created the possibility that some 
SRA-operated aircraft are registered in neither Thailand nor 
Cambodia, raising serious concerns about safety oversight for 
those aircraft.  This, we are told, is a main reason for the 
EU decision. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Given the poor rating of Cambodia's safety oversight 
in the ICAO audit, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority is 
planning a visit to Cambodia early next month to identify 
possible areas for technical assistance to the State 
Secretariat for Civil Aviation to improve their ability to 
implement and enforce international aviation safety 
standards.  The Mission is currently reviewing its policy 
regarding use of SRA and will consult with Consular Affairs. 
RODLEY