New Hanoi-HCM air route through Laos, Cambodia to launch mid-2015

A new direct air route linking Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City flying through Laos and Cambodian airspace will be established in June 2015, according to head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), Lai Xuan Thanh.

The new air route through Laos and Cambodia (the dashed back line) is 85km shorter than the current route (the purple line) (photo: VGP)

In the first stage, the route will be exclusively one-way, departing from Ho Chi Minh City for Hanoi with an optimal flight level of FL350 (equivalent to 35,000 feet), he noted.

The CAAV leader made the statement at a congress in Da Nang on the establishment of a direct North-South air route between aviation authorities and air control service providers of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Thanh said that Vietnam reached an agreement with Laos and Cambodia to open the direct air route through the two countries instead of flying over the ocean following Vietnam's 'S' shaped coastline. However, Laos and Cambodia only agreed to allow Vietnam to operate one-way fights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in the first phase and the return flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh will be discussed further in the future.

The CAAV in co-ordination with Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air ran flight simulator (SIM) tests on the proposed route from Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City through Laos and Cambodia on September 3-4.

The results showed that the new route was 85km shorter, saving five minutes of flying time and 190kg of fuel.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)