Arriving at Techo International Airport (KTI): A Step-by-Step Guide for Americans

Why KTI changes the arrival you may have planned for

If you booked your Cambodia trip more than a few months out, or you are reading older guidance, you may be braced for the wrong airport. Phnom Penh stopped arriving at the old PNH airport on 9 September 2025. Every commercial flight now lands at Techo International Airport, code KTI, a brand-new airport roughly 20 km south of the city center. It is bigger, brighter, and laid out differently from the airport most older blog posts describe, so the muscle memory of past Phnom Penh arrivals does not fully transfer.

The good news for Americans: KTI is a modern arrival hall with clear signage in English and Khmer, wide corridors, and a logical one-direction flow from gate to street. You cannot really get lost. The flow is also predictable, which is the whole point of this guide — once you know the six steps and the three documents that matter, the arrival is genuinely calm. Most of the stress at any airport comes from not knowing what is next; at KTI, what is next is always the same.

This walkthrough takes you gate to taxi in the exact order you hit each step, with the two documents that gate the whole thing — your eVisa and your e-Arrival QR code — sorted before you board. When you are ready, you can apply for the eVisa in a few minutes, and our Cambodia visa for United States citizens pulls cost, documents, and processing into one reference. If you have not started the visa yet, do that first, because everything at KTI assumes it is already approved.

Before you land: the three documents the kiosk and desk want

KTI arrival is fast when three things are ready and slow when any one of them is not. None of these can be fixed cleanly after you deplane, so sort all three before you board your final flight into Cambodia. Two of them are the documents the kiosk and the Immigration officer physically check; the third is the passport itself.

Your US passport

Your current US passport, valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry, with at least one full blank page for the entry stamp. The 6-month rule is enforced by the airline at your US departure gate, not just at the Cambodian border, so a passport expiring within six months of your arrival can get you turned away before you ever leave the country. Frequent travelers should flip through and count blank pages — Cambodian Immigration stamps a full page, not a strip at the edge.

Your approved eVisa PDF

The eVisa is your permission to enter Cambodia, and it must be approved before you fly. The tourist eVisa is $80 USD all-in and is approved in 3–5 days, delivered as a printable PDF by email, so do not leave it to the last minute. Save the PDF to your phone and print a paper copy as a backup — airport Wi-Fi and a dying battery are a bad combination at exactly the moment the officer asks to see it. The eVisa is valid for 3 months from issue and gives you a 30-day, single-entry stay.

Your e-Arrival QR code

The e-Arrival Card is a separate, mandatory step for every air arrival — 14 fields you file within the 7 days before your flight. Once submitted, it returns a QR code, and that QR code is the very first thing scanned at KTI. We file a verified e-Arrival Card for $20 USD, checked end-to-end before it reaches Cambodian Immigration. Screenshot the QR confirmation so it lives offline on your phone, and you can pull it up at the kiosk in two seconds. Our e-Arrival QR scan at KTI guide covers exactly how the scan works at the desk.

The six steps at KTI, in order

KTI runs a single-direction flow. You will follow the same path as everyone else off your flight, and the signage points you through it. Here are the six steps in the exact order you meet them, with what happens and what you need at each one.

1. 1
   Deplane and follow signs

   Walk off the jet bridge and follow the overhead Arrivals and Immigration signs through KTI in English and Khmer.

2. 2
   e-Arrival QR scan

   An officer or kiosk scans the QR code from the e-Arrival Card you filed within the 7 days before arrival.

3. 3
   Immigration desk

   Hand over your US passport and approved eVisa; the officer checks both and stamps a 30-day single-entry stay.

4. 4
   Baggage claim

   Collect your bags from the numbered carousel, or walk straight through if you only have carry-on.

5. 5
   Customs

   Take the nothing-to-declare lane; the e-Arrival Card already covered the customs declaration, so there is no second form.

6. 6
   Arrivals hall

   Step into the hall for a SIM card, an ATM, and your ride into Phnom Penh before you head out the doors.

1. Deplane and follow the arrivals signs

You walk off the jet bridge into a wide, bright corridor and follow the overhead signs reading Arrivals and Immigration. KTI is large, so this can be a five-minute walk depending on your gate. Have your phone out and your passport reachable — not buried in a checked bag, obviously, but also not at the bottom of a backpack you will be digging through while the queue moves.

2. The e-Arrival kiosk QR scan

Before Immigration, you reach the e-Arrival checkpoint. An officer or a kiosk scans the QR code from the e-Arrival Card you filed in the 7 days before your flight. This is a quick scan, not a form to fill out — provided you actually filed the card. Travelers who skipped it or filed it wrong get pulled aside here to sort it on the spot, which is the slowest possible place to do it. Pull up your saved QR screenshot before you reach the front of the line.

3. Immigration desk

You hand the officer your US passport and your eVisa PDF. They check that the eVisa is valid and matches your passport, ask one or two short questions about your trip, take a photo, and stamp you in for a 30-day single-entry stay. The questions are routine — where you are staying, how long, and the purpose of your visit. Answer plainly and have your hotel name ready. Our guide to the Immigration officer questions Americans hear walks through what to expect and how to answer.

4. Baggage claim

Past Immigration, the baggage carousels are clearly numbered against your flight. If you only have carry-on, you walk straight through. KTI is new, so the belts are fast and the hall is uncrowded compared with older Southeast Asian airports. While you wait, this is a good moment to switch your phone to airplane mode off and check whether your QR screenshots and eVisa PDF are still saved offline.

5. Customs

Customs at KTI is a straightforward walk-through for most travelers. Unless you are carrying commercial quantities of goods, large amounts of cash, or restricted items, you take the nothing-to-declare lane and keep moving. Your e-Arrival Card already included the short customs declaration, so there is no second paper form to fill out here. Officers may spot-check bags, but it is quick.

6. The arrivals hall

You step into the public arrivals hall, where the SIM-card counters, ATMs, currency exchange, and transport desks all sit. This is where you set up your phone and your ride before you walk out the doors into the heat. Our guide to what to show at Cambodia Immigration on arrival covers the documents side in more depth if you want the full checklist before you travel.

SIM, cash, and getting into Phnom Penh from KTI

The arrivals hall is the last leg, and it is worth a few minutes of attention rather than rushing for the first taxi tout you see. KTI is about 20 km south of central Phnom Penh — meaningfully farther out than the old airport — so your ride is longer and the fare is higher than older guides quote. Sort your phone and cash first so you are not negotiating transport with no data and no local currency.

Get a SIM or eSIM

The official telecom counters in the arrivals hall sell tourist SIM cards with generous data for a few US dollars, and staff will set it up for you on the spot — bring your passport, since SIMs are registered to it. If you prefer, buy an eSIM online before you fly and activate it the moment you land, which skips the counter entirely. Either way, get connected before you leave the building so your ride-hailing app and maps work outside.

Cash and ATMs

Cambodia runs on US dollars day to day, so American travelers have an easy time here — bring clean, undamaged USD bills and you can pay for most things directly. The ATMs in the hall dispense both US dollars and Cambodian riel; the riel is mainly used for small change under a dollar. A common trap is arriving with only large bills, so break a few twenties into smaller notes early for taxis, tips, and the SIM.

Getting into the city

You have three realistic options into Phnom Penh: the official airport taxi desk with fixed-price fares, a ride-hailing app like Grab or PassApp once your SIM is live, or a pre-arranged hotel pickup. Because KTI is farther out, expect a longer ride than the old airport — plan for it rather than being surprised by the meter. Our Techo airport to Phnom Penh transport and cost guide breaks down each option and what to actually budget.

The mistakes that slow Americans down at KTI

The single most common 2026 mistake is showing up expecting the old airport. Bookings made before the switch, taxi drivers quoting the old address, and out-of-date directions all still reference PNH. Confirm every leg of your trip says KTI or Techo. Our explainer on why Phnom Penh moved to KTI, not PNH covers the change and how to make sure your bookings reflect it.

The second most common slowdown is the e-Arrival Card — either skipped entirely, or filed with a date-format slip. The form reads day-month-year in places, so an American entering 06/07 expecting July 6th gets June 7th instead, putting the arrival date a month off. That mismatch gets caught at the kiosk, the worst place to discover it. Filing a verified card before you fly removes that risk.

A third trap is treating the eVisa and the e-Arrival Card as one thing. They are two separate steps with two separate purposes. The eVisa is your legal permission to enter, approved in advance. The e-Arrival Card is your arrival declaration, filed in the week before you land. You need both. Travelers who file one and assume it covers the other get stopped — usually at the e-Arrival kiosk, which is the first checkpoint.

Finally, do not count on the land borders as a fallback. All seven Thailand–Cambodia land borders have been closed since June 2025, so the old plan of busing in from Bangkok is not available — flying into KTI is the route. If your trip pairs Cambodia with Thailand, plan to fly between the two countries rather than cross overland.

One more thing worth knowing: the tourist visa auto-extension ended in November 2025. Your eVisa gives you 30 days, single entry, and there is no automatic grace period at the back end anymore. Plan your departure inside the 30 days, or look into the proper extension path before you travel if you need longer.