Dark Tourism - Kampong Chhnang Airport

Located within the city and province of Kampong Chhnang is one of the most eerie sites related to the rule of the Khmer Rouge, namely the abandoned Kampong Chhnang Airport. Despite this though few have even heard of the place, while fewer still have visited.

And this is largely the case with almost all sires related to the Khmer Rouge, with the Ministry of Tourism largely not really knowing what to do with them. To fill that void though is the American NGO the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC Cam) who are not just trying to raise awareness, but also renovate many of these sites.

Who are DC Cam?

DC Cam is an NGO set up with the United Sates of America whose principal aim is to document and preserve stories, artifacts, and sites related to the Khmer Rouge during their decades long insurgency as well as their time running the country under the Democratic Kampuchea (democratickampuhea,com) period.

Tellingly what they also do is preserve and signpost historical sites, such as the grave of Pol Pot in order to create historical tourist sites that educate rather than avoid or promote.

This has taken many forms with the most recent success story being their building of a road to the former bunker of Pol Pot. This has now made the site accessible as previously it could only be gotten to via a relatively dangerous road accessibly only by dirk bike.

Other projects by DC-Cam include the renovation of the controversial grave of Pol Pot. According to the group this will allow them to make visiting both safer and more educational through the adding of touristic facilities.

They have also quite literally mapped out hundreds of locations throughout the country that are not yet visited by tourists, chief among them being Kampong Chhnang Airport.

What is Kampong Chhnang Airport?

The city and province of Kampong Chhnang can rightly be described as a bit of a backwater, with it being massively underdeveloped, as well as one of the poorest parts of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It does though have elevation, as well as proximity to the capital, key elements for a covert airport.

Currently it is just 2-3 hours from the capital and would have been not much longer journey even in the late 1970’s. For these and a myriad of other reasons, largely advised by the Chinese it was decided to build an airport here.

Sadly fairly little is known about the project save the victims and who organized it. What we do know is that a huge amount of forced labour was used and that Chinese advisors were key t9 its building.

Nowadays while it has not and seemingly will not ever be used it is looked after by the military and remains in an alarmingly good state of repair.

The dark history of Kampong Chhnang Airport

While details on the history of the airport are a little vague there are at least a few verifiable facts. We know that the initial plan for the airport, which was to be of military use came about in 1975 and not long after the Khmer Rouge took power.

Contraction began in 1976 and it is estimated that up to 10,000 forced laborers were used in its construction. And while we do not know exactly how many of them died villagers nearby reported still being able to smell the stench of death two years later. Many are suspected of having been buried underneath the runway.

This though is not the only dark site related to the Khmer Rouge with there also being a prison cave nearby. Here it is reported that forced labor was used to excavate the cave which in turn was used as a prison and execution centre.

Villagers in the region still report that the Chinese were indeed a party to these actions. Sadly there is no form of memorial at either site.

Visiting Kampong Chhnang Airport

Visiting Kampong Chhnang airport in 2024 is to a large extent no easy task, but also far from impossible. To do so though you will require your own vehicle. Distance wise it is 4-5 hours from Battambang, or a more reasonable 2-3 hours from Phnom Penh.

You will though not find Kampong Chhnang Airport signposted, with the use of Google Maps and a vehicle that can handle off road being essential if you do plan to visit.

On arrival you will be greeted by the army guarding the site, with your ability to come in being related directly to how charming you can be. What you will then see is almost like a time capsule from the 1970’s, with there being all the kinds of buildings you would expect from an airport. Most amazing about them though is the fact of how well they have been looked after, particularly for structures that have been abandoned for almost 50 years.

This is especially true for the runway itself, with its surface measuring 2,400 by 50 metres (7,874 ft × 164 ft) and looks like it is part of a functioning airport. And while there is no official reasoning for this one expects that the various regimes since, such as the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea, State of Cambodia and now the Kingdom of Cambodia have likely seen this relatively high runway as a strategic military asset. After all you never know when the Vietnamese might invade right.

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