Philippine Airlines plans to launch flights between the Philippines and Cambodia, according to an aviation official. The move would break the monopoly of domestic competitor Cebu Pacific Air, which started flying the route in April last year.

Aviation authorities in the Philippines sent a letter to Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation stating that the airline intended to fly to the Kingdom, said Vann Chanthy, director of the regulator’s Air Transport Department.

Aviation industry website ch-aviation reported on Monday that Philippine Airlines plans to resume flights to Europe in November after it was banned by the EU in 2010. Philippine Airlines holds a 49 per cent stake in Cambodia Airlines, the carrier jockeying to break into a domestic market monopolised by Cambodia Angkor Air.

Details on the start dates for the flights was not available.

Ministry of Tourism statistics show that 97,000 Philippine tourists visited Cambodia last year, a 37 per cent increase compared to 2011.