HCMC – The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has requested local carriers to add flights for the upcoming public holiday travel rush given the high occupancy of many flights from HCMC and Hanoi cities to tourist destinations nationwide.
Vietnamese will have a five-day weekend holiday next week as the death anniversary of the Hung Kings falls on Saturday, April 29 and Reunification Day (April 30) on Sunday, hence two following days off as a compensation. Therefore, plus International Labor Day on Monday, May 1, they will have a total of five days off.
The reports of local airlines showed that on April 28 and 29, the total number of available seats was over 41,000 for the routes from Hanoi to tourist cities such as Nha Trang, Danang, Hue, Dalat, Phu Quoc, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon and Dong Hoi.
Till now, local airlines have recorded a high occupancy rate on many of their flights. On April 29, Hanoi-Hue flights on the route are full while those on the Hanoi-Tuy Hoa route are 93% full and Hanoi-Dong Hoi and Hanoi-Quy Nhon flights are over 96% occupied.
For flights departing from HCMC, the number of available seats is estimated at 40,000. The percentage of seats occupied on flights from HCMC to Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc and Tuy Hoa is over 80%. Meanwhile, bookings of flights to Nha Trang, Danang, Hue, Dalat, Phu Quoc, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon and Dong Hoi have also increased.
Return flights from HCMC and Hanoi City also have high occupancy on May 2 and 3, while over 80% of seats have been booked on flights from the tourist destinations of Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Hue and Tuy Hoa to the two big cities.
To meet the increasing travel demand of residents, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requested local carriers to increase the numbers of flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Phu Quoc, Tuy Hoa, Binh Dinh, Cam Ranh and Con Dao for April 28 and 29, and May 2 and 3.
In a related development, the Ministry of Transport could not approve the proposals made by local carriers on revising down the departure and arrival service fee for this year as the funding for repairing and maintaining airport infrastructure is needed to ensure airport security, according to the ministry.
