Big, beautiful and mostly empty, Cambodia’s new Techo International Airport offers a surprisingly grand arrival to Phnom Penh, its quiet halls built on a scale few travelers anticipate.
The new airport – anywhere from 45-90 minutes from the Mekong riverside depending on traffic – opened in September, replacing the long-used Pochentong facility that had expanded repeatedly since 2006 but could no longer absorb Cambodia’s growing visitor numbers.
The shift marks a decisive break from the capital’s past. Two decades ago, the city’s airport still functioned as a modest regional terminal serving just over a million passengers a year. Since then, Cambodia’s rapid urbanization, manufacturing growth, rising incomes and construction boom pushed traffic steadily upward, with the old airport handling about 4.75 million passengers in 2024, a load that eventually overwhelmed the limits of the site.
That rapid growth explains the scale now on display at Techo. Inside, the airport’s broad halls and high ceilings feel almost unreal in their quiet, offering an unexpectedly calm introduction to the country’s newest gateway.
A Walk Through the Techo Terminal
Arriving at Techo International Airport – “Techo” is a Khmer honorific meaning “powerful” or “commander,” historically granted by the monarchy and now closely tied to national prestige projects associated with Hun Sen – visitors first step into a concourse that feels unusually large for a capital city. The hall runs long and bright, its polished floors and pale ceilings creating an uninterrupted line of sight far ahead. Foot traffic is light, and the even glow from the overhead panels gives the space a stillness not often found in major airports.
The baggage-claim hall continues that impression. The carousels sit beneath tall structural columns and an expansive ceiling, finished to a modern standard but occupied by only a handful of passengers at a time. A landscaped indoor courtyard stands nearby, where trees rise through the space and benches circle the planters—a quiet, shaded pocket meant to soften the transition from the aircraft to the terminal.
Beyond Techo’s exit doors, the arrivals forecourt spreads out under a deep drop-off canopy. The lanes are wide, the curbside clearly marked, and only a modest line of taxis and private cars waits along the pavement. The scale of the roadway and its overhead structure suggests capacity far beyond present demand, a design anticipating heavier flows as traffic builds.
Departing travelers encounter the rest of the terminal’s vast footprint. Just inside the main entrance, a large standing Buddha occupies the center of the hall, drawing a steady stream of passengers who pause for photos before heading to check-in.
Beyond it, the Techo departures hall opens into a wide, high-volume space where counters line the edges of a long-polished floor. A clean ceiling grid rises overhead in repeating patterns, and the scale of the room gives passengers considerable space to move even during busier periods.
Large panes of glass frame views of the undeveloped land and future commercial plots surrounding the airport, reinforcing the sense that the terminal is meant to serve as the first anchor in a much larger district still to come.
Above the check-in level, an open mezzanine houses the pre-security food court. Cafés and fast-casual outlets line the perimeter, while broad walkways and generous seating areas give the floor the feel of a contemporary shopping mall. The atmosphere remains subdued, however, and most tables sit empty between departing waves.
Past security, the retail area forms a glossy central spine of branded cafés, convenience stores and specialty shops. The finishes are modern and consistent, and the corridor is laid out for a much higher passenger volume than currently passes through.
Planning Began 7 Years Ago
Once you step away from the gleaming check-in hall and the photo ops, Techo International Airport turns out to be a very deliberate piece of national engineering, years in the making.
Plans were approved in 2018 after officials determined the old airport had no space left to expand.
By the late 2010s, Phnom Penh’s skyline was reshaped by new condominiums, satellite cities and expressways, and planners turned to the question of long-term capacity. Even after a major upgrade in 2015, the Pochentong footprint could not support additional runways or future long-haul expansion. The government ultimately approved a full relocation as a generational investment in the country’s next stage of development.
Construction began the following year across 2,600 hectares of farmland and lakes under Cambodia Airport Investment Co., a joint venture between the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation and the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation. Funding combined Cambodian capital with long-term loans from China Development Bank, and the project was executed with the expectation that it would replace Pochentong entirely.
Scale and Operations
The new airport occupies one of the world’s largest aviation land reserves. Phase one includes a 4,000-metre runway capable of handling the largest passenger aircraft and a terminal designed for roughly 13 million passengers a year.
Foster + Partners designed the airport around a low-rise headhouse feeding two aerofoil-shaped piers beneath a continuous roof supported by branching “structural trees.” Planned expansions include additional piers, runways and a second terminal that could eventually raise capacity toward 50 million passengers.
Ownership remains with CAIC, while Cambodia Airports, part of the Vinci Airports group, manages daily operations. A new maintenance base with SIA Engineering Co. positions the airport as a regional servicing hub as well as a passenger gateway.
Located about 20 kilometers south of the city, the airport anchors a wider development corridor. A new expressway links directly to Phnom Penh, and a rail or metro connection is planned in later phases. The surrounding area has been zoned for logistics and commercial growth.
The first commercial flight landed on Sept. 9, 2025, followed by an official inauguration on Oct. 20. Cambodian carriers shifted operations early, with foreign airlines moving over in scheduled phases.
Passenger Flow and Public Response
The terminal was built to avoid the congestion common at its predecessor. Deep overhangs, shaded courtyards and filtered natural light address Cambodia’s climate, while landscaped interiors and a solar farm reflect broader sustainability goals.
Passenger movement follows a straightforward path: check-in, then security and immigration, followed by a central departures corridor leading to the gates. Walking distances are brief despite the building’s footprint, and the wide concourses are designed to absorb future increases in traffic.
Early feedback from travel publications and aviation analysts has been positive. Reviews highlight the scale, clarity of layout and smooth processing times. Public response on forums and social media has echoed those points while noting that retail offerings remain limited and some signage is still being refined. Many describe the building as quiet but impressive, with visible room for growth.
What’s Next for the Old Airport?
With commercial flights now transferred, the former Phnom Penh International Airport has ended its role as the capital’s primary gateway. It is expected to continue in a limited capacity for military, VIP and emergency operations.
Techo International now stands as the country’s main connection point to the world and a signal of long-term confidence in Cambodia’s aviation future.
Whether traffic eventually rises to fill its oversized halls will depend on sustained economic growth, airline partnerships and deepening regional connectivity.
The capacity targets are lofty. The first phase of the airport is designed to handle about 13-15 million passengers annually, with a future goal of around 30 million by 2030 and up to 50 million by 2050.
Recent reports from the airport’s first week showed an average of around 15,000 two-way passengers and 130 flights a day. While promising, those figures still reflect a small fraction of full capacity.
Aviation-trade reports show Cambodia’s international airports (including elsewhere) growing at around 15%-20% year on year, with roughly 6.7 million international tourists in 2024 and continuing recovery in flights.
Economically, Cambodia has posted high growth rates (pre-pandemic averaging 6%-7% annually) and growing foreign investment and urbanisation in Phnom Penh suggest a strong base.
On the connectivity side, the new airport is deliberately positioned to capture long-haul, wide body traffic, and logistics growth — targeting more than just tourism.
Techo is a big bet on the future, but Cambodia’s ambition is plausible. It’s just that the runway ahead remains long.
