A ceremony to welcome the 12 millionth passenger to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi was held on December 5.

The passenger took the flight VJ 8660 conducted by VietJet Air.

Noi Bai airport has to date provided services for 36 domestic and international airlines from 30 countries and territories around the world.

It has seen an increase of 10 percent in an annual average number of flights and passenger arrivals over the past five years.

This year, the airport is expected to receive around 90,000 flights.

The Vietnamese aviation market will stay open to foreign carriers and closely connected with the regional and international aviation sector, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has said at a recent aviation promotion conference.

In 2012, the Vietnamese aviation sector received 310,000 flights carrying 37.5 million passengers and 650,000 tonnes of cargo.

At decision 21/QD-TTg dated January 8, 2009, the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam should have 26 airports by 2020, of which 10 would be international.-VNA