Cambodia Shuts Border Crossings, Thousands of Thais Stranded with Few Flights

Thai workers and holiday-makers caught on the wrong side of the border woke up this week to discover their usual road back home had vanished. Cambodia’s Senate president, former strongman Hun Sen, says the shutdown is temporary and only affects land routes, but that hasn’t comforted the estimated 5,000-plus Thais marooned in Poipet or the hundreds scattered around Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Quick glance at the fallout

• Land crossings sealed from Sa Kaeo to Trat after fresh artillery exchanges.

• Phnom Penh insists airports remain open; Thai diplomats urge caution.

• Roughly 6,000 Thais still waiting for evacuation flights or safe passage.

• Bangkok brands the move a “humanitarian violation.”

Why Phnom Penh slammed the gate

Cambodian officials argue the decision was driven by “pure safety concerns.” Frontier towns on both sides have traded BM-21 rockets, mortar fire and drone strikes since 7 December, making shabby rural checkpoints too risky to operate. Hun Sen maintains that “airfields are untouched,” allowing those who can afford tickets to leave by plane. Yet closing ground exits without warning has stranded thousands who rely on daily cross-border commutes, cheap vans or motorcycle taxis.

Counting the stranded – and where they are

Thai consular data show 669 registry forms filed in Phnom Penh, but diplomats admit the real figure is far higher. In the casino hub of Poipet, local NGOs put the number at 5,000–6,000. Smaller pockets of labourers remain in Battambang’s construction sites, Siem Reap’s shuttered hotels and rubber plantations near the Chong Sa-Ngam corridor. Most entered on border passes that do not allow them to board international flights, complicating any quick airlift.

“Just fly,” says Hun Sen – but is that realistic?

Seats on commercial services are scarce. Siem Reap’s afternoon departure to Bangkok offers barely 180 seats a day, while Thai Airways and AirAsia combine for fewer than 700 out of Phnom Penh. The Thai Foreign Ministry has lined up charter options, yet passengers still need valid passports, exit stamps and cash for onward travel. Some border workers earn $10 a day and cannot cover an immediate airfare. Others fear travelling across active combat zones to reach the nearest runway.

Bangkok’s diplomatic pushback

Foreign Minister Nigradet Phlangkura summoned ASEAN envoys last week, calling Cambodia’s blockade a breach of international humanitarian law. Thailand has offered to reopen its own checkpoints unilaterally so civilians can leave the firing line and called on Phnom Penh to accept a verified cease-fire supervised by mine-clearance teams. Privately, officials warn that if Cambodians keep holding Thais in Poipet, Bangkok may tighten fuel exports that power Cambodia’s armoured units.

Border economies feeling the squeeze

Merchants in Aranyaprathet report a 40 % drop in daily trade since the gate at Ban Khlong Luek switched to restricted hours. Transport firms have parked hundreds of six-wheel trucks, unable to cross. Farmers in Surin and Buriram say fertilizer shipments are stuck, threatening the next rice crop. On the Cambodian side, thousands of displaced villagers from Banteay Meanchey crowd makeshift shelters, adding to pressure on provincial budgets already drained by conflict.

Staying safe and getting home

Thai authorities advise anyone still inside Cambodia to:

Register with the embassy in Phnom Penh via the dedicated LINE Official Account.

Move toward Phnom Penh International or Siem Reap-Angkor only if road conditions are confirmed safe that day.

Keep copies of ID cards, work permits and two passport photos for emergency travel documents.

Monitor the Foreign Ministry’s X (Twitter) feed @ThaiMFAWarRoom for seat allocations on relief flights.

Avoid a 50 km radius of the frontier, especially Chong Arn Ma and Ta Kwai Hill, where shelling continues.

What next?

Regional diplomats whisper that a limited “Christmas truce” may surface at the postponed ASEAN foreign-ministers’ meeting on 22 December. For now, though, borderland artillery duels rumble on, and the road back to Sa Kaeo remains closed. Until the guns fall silent, Thai citizens in Cambodia will be weighing a single, uncertain escape plan: take to the air, or sit tight and hope the border re-opens before their cash and patience run out.