Issue with flights to Cambodia with a layover in Bangkok

Hello,

So you're flying Europe - Bangkok with Swiss Air, then Bangkok - Cambodia with Lufthansa Airlines, is that correct? And now you'd like to go via Singapore instead of Bangkok.

What do you mean by "these 2 airlines have canceled the Cambodia destination regardless of the day, and the airport in Cambodia"? From Singapore? Neither Swiss Air nor Lufthansa offer direct flights from Singapore to Cambodia, but Swiss Air (a member of the Lufthansa Group) has a partnership with Singapore Airlines, which does have regular direct flights to Cambodia. So, from what I understand, your flight would need to be changed to Swiss Air + Singapore Airlines with a layover in Singapore. I imagine Swiss Air might accept this change, but won’t you have to pay for the modifications (canceling with Lufthansa and booking with Singapore Airlines, and all this just weeks before the flight)? If you can change your itinerary for free, great! Otherwise, I guess you’ll have to take your chances in Bangkok and hope Thai immigration doesn’t notice at the airport...

Hello,

So you're flying Europe - Bangkok with Swiss Air, then Bangkok - Cambodia with Lufthansa Airlines, is that right? And you'd like to go through Singapore instead of Bangkok.

No, I assume it's a Swiss International ticket, flight operated by Lufthansa, one way or return, or both, to Bangkok. Or the other way around—a Lufthansa ticket operated by Swiss.

Also, Turkish Airlines has opened KTI as a new destination for about ten days now, for your information; still Star Alliance.

If you can change your itinerary for free, great! Otherwise, I guess you’ll have to take your chances in Bangkok and hope Thai immigration at the airport doesn’t notice...

Why do you say that? What’s the issue with BKK-KTI flights? They seem to be operating normally.

Michel

Hi Michel,

For several months now, and especially since the resumption of the Thailand/Cambodia conflict two weeks ago, many travelers in transit at Bangkok (mainly Don Muang Airport) heading to or returning from Cambodia have reported excessive checks. This was also mentioned by the Cambodian ambassador in France, though his statement should be taken with a grain of salt given the current conflict. Overly thorough searches, interrogations lasting several hours, aggressive and arrogant behavior, requests to show bookings planned in Cambodia, and proof of "sufficient" financial resources. Many tourists have reported this upon arrival in Cambodia. The ambassador also added that some luggage didn’t make it to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap airports.

Let me try to explain again: we have a case with Lufthansa and Swiss airlines. Currently, our flights haven’t been canceled, but here’s the thing: when you log onto their websites, they no longer offer connections to Cambodia. On the outbound trip, we have a flight from Nice to Munich to Bangkok to Siem Reap (with Lufthansa and Thai Airways as partners). If you try to book the same route today, the airlines respond: "The final destination is no longer part of our flights." This means they’ve canceled the Cambodia destination, no matter the layover (I’ve tried Bangkok and Singapore). They’ve decided to stop selling tickets to Cambodia, regardless of the route. Their flights now only go as far as Bangkok, so you’d have to buy a separate ticket from Bangkok to Siem Reap. But you’d want to avoid a layover in Bangkok—via Singapore, it’s the same issue, and with the schedules, you’d have to spend a night in Singapore.

I think our flights haven’t been canceled because either: 1) they’re waiting to see how things evolve and prefer not to sell tickets for now, or 2) they haven’t processed all the cases yet and are doing it gradually.

I’m looking for people who might have a nearly identical ticket to ours for the coming days to see what alternative the airline has offered, though I don’t see what that could be. I’ll keep you updated on how our flights evolve in the meantime.

Okay, I didn’t quite get the problem earlier—I hope you get more info soon! !

Hi there,

Just a heads-up—unless you’ve booked separate one-way tickets, you’ll have either a Lufthansa ticket or a Swiss ticket. Only one point of contact.

Michel

Hi, From what I’ve seen, flights from Bangkok to Cambodia operated by Thai Airways haven’t been canceled. So I think they’ve just stopped selling tickets for these routes due to lower demand. Keep us posted on how it goes!

Hello

The flights are still operating, but tell me, how safe is it around Angkor? Thanks

Fealdean

I’ll be able to get back to you in about 10 days—we’re leaving on January 25th.