Hanoi (VNA) – Airports in Vietnam served up to 45.5 million passengers in the first five months of this year, an increase of 37.8% compared to the same period last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
Of the figure, there were 12 million foreigners and 33.4 million local passengers, marking a year-on-year rise of 679.6% and 33.4%, respectively.
In May alone, airports across the country served 9 million passengers, up 3.2% from the previous month.
Between January and May, Vietnamese airlines carried 22.4 million people, a year-on-year increase of 36.9%. Of the total, there were 16.7 million domestic passengers, up 5.7% from 2022.
The volume of foreign passengers reached 5.7 million, an increase of 5,525.1% higher than from the corresponding period last year.
The sudden rise in the number of passengers after more than two years of travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an improvement in the business results of domestic airlines.
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines saw revenue doubling year-on-year to 23.5 trillion VND (about 1 billion USD) in the first quarter of this year. It still reported a after-tax loss of 37.3 billion VND in the period, but it is a significant improvement compared to a loss of nearly 2.69 trillion VND in the same period last year.
The airline has restored its entire domestic flight network and resumed 90% of the international routes compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, during the first three months of 2023, air carrier Vietjet posted revenue of 12.88 trillion VND and after-tax profit of 168 billion VND, increasing by 286% and 320% year-on-year, respectively.
Ancillary revenue, in particular, was reported at 4.31 trillion VND, accounting for more than 33% of the total revenue. The company’s consolidated revenue and after-tax profit were almost 12.9 trillion VND and 173 billion VND, respectively./.