According to the International Air Transport Association, Vietnam's aviation saw a remarkable growth rate of 17 percent in 2017, more than double Asia's average growth rate of 6.7 percent. This has prompted foreign airlines to open air routes to Vietnam.
Vietnam's airports received 24.2 million passengers in Q1 2018.
|
Following suit, Air Seoul Inc, a subsidiary providing budget airlines, belonging to Asiana Airlines, last month opened a new air route to Da Nang City. Six South Korean air carriers are providing flights to the city, which attracts 500,000 South Korean travelers each year.
Edelwiss from Switzerland in late May also announced it will officially provide direct flights between Zurich and Ho Chi Minh City, commencing on November 15 this year.
Recently, Indian carrier IndiGo Airlines - the largest of its kind in India - has also planned to launch services to 24 new international destinations, including Vietnam, in the next 18 months.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), 63 foreign airlines from 25 countries and territories will have 105 international air routes to Vietnam by October 2018, a sharp increase compared with 2016 when there were 78 air routes.
Further expansion underway
2017 marked the busiest year ever for Vietnam's airports as they served more than 94 million passengers, including 13 million foreigners, a year-on-year increase of 32.1 percent, CAAV reported.
The number of passengers passing through Vietnam's airports in the first quarter of 2018 continuously rose by 8 percent year-on-year to 24.2 million.
Randy J. Tinseth, vice president of Boeing, said that the South East Asian aviation market, including Vietnam, has been growing rapidly, buoyed by a fast growing economy and increasing demand for long-range passenger services.
Tinseth projected that airlines in the region will need 940 wide-body aircrafts worth some US$280 billion over the next 20 years.
He said that Vietnam's aviation market has a good growth, explained that Vietnam has been the country with the highest economic growth in the Southeast Asian region for the past decade and its domestic passenger traffic has increased by 20 percent while travel abroad has increased by 7 percent.
The Vietnamese aviation market will continuously have a spectacular growth this year, Tinseth forecast.
Deputy Transport Minister Le Dinh Tho said that it has been projected that Vietnam will soon be among the world's top five markets in terms of passenger growth. Such huge potential is an opportunity for Vietnam's aviation industry to continue taking off.
To develop the country's aviation industry sustainably, the government has recently approved the revision of the national aviation transport development plan till 2020 with a vision to 2030.
Under the plan, Vietnam's aviation industry will exploit 23 airports with an annual traffic of 144 million passengers by 2020 and 28 airports with an annual traffic of 308 million passengers by 2030. The number of aircraft will grow by more than 220 units by 2020 and 400 units by 2030, increasing by 70-100 units compared to the previous plan.
The government has also approved a project to develop direct international flight routes, aimed at expanding the direct international flight route network connecting Vietnam and its major markets such as the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, Germany, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and India.
