Local airlines regain 35-40% passenger capacity

ABO/VNA - Air travel demand has increased after a long period of travel restriction because of Covid-19.

Airlines have regained 35-40 percent of capacity, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Tran Minh in Binh Thanh district, HCM City, has booked air tickets and hotel rooms for a 5-day family trip to Phu Quoc Island.

“Phu Quoc is wonderful with many beautiful beaches. The air tickets and hotel rooms are very cheap, just half of the previous rates. The government has controlled the epidemic well,” Minh said.

Large travel firms in HCM City confirmed that clients have returned to book tours, air tickets and hotel rooms.

The re-activation of the tourism industry is expected to help the aviation sector recover rapidly.

The airlines belonging to Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and VASCO, have announced a plan to increase flight frequency and resume domestic air routes under the control of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and CAAV.

It is expected that the domestic air route network will fully recover by June 2020.

From now to the end of May 15, Vietnam Airlines will provide 17 flights a day on the backbone Hanoi-HCM City air route and it step by step increase flight frequency. It will also increase the numbers of flights between Da Nang and Hanoi/HCM City, between HCM City and Phu Quoc, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa and Vinh City.

Meanwhile, VASCO has announced an increase of the number of flights between HCM City and Con Dao Island to 6-8 flights. It plans to provide 2-3 flights a week on air routes between Hanoi and Dien Bien City, HCm City and Rach Gia and Ca Mau.

Jetstar Pacific has resumed air routes between HCM City and Da Nang, Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Pleiku, Chu Lai and Dong Hoi.

As for Vietjet, the air carrier has increased the frequency of the return flights between Hanoi and HCM City, Hanoi/HCM City and Da Nang, and has reopened other domestic air routes to satisfy increasingly high demand.

Head of CAAV Dinh Viet Thang said that the domestic air travel market is expected to see full recovery by June.

Meanwhile, it is very difficult to predict the performance of the international market because the epidemic is not under control in many other countries. The resumption of international air routes will depend on tourism demand. Some analysts believe that the international aviation market will only retyrn to normal by the end of 2021.

Thang said the aviation sector has been hit hard by Covid-19. Only 1-2 percent of 250 aircraft were used during the social distancing period.

(Source: VNA)