The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will soon open another three domestic air routes and four international ones in a bid to fully extract the capacity of the city’s international airport.

The plan was discussed at a meeting between the Steering Committee for the Southwestern region and municipal leaders on February 11.

The new domestic flights will connect Can Tho and the central city of Da Nang, Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands and the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa. Meanwhile, the foreign flights will target Cambodia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Taiwan (China).

During the meeting, the officials tabled preparations for the upcoming conference to lure aircraft carriers both at home and abroad to engage in the seven new routes.

National flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, and others like Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Vietjet Air, plus several international aircraft operators from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan (China) and the RoK will participate in the event.

Addressing the meeting, Duong Quoc Xuan, the committee’s deputy head, hailed Can Tho leaders’ initiative to organise the conference, which, he said, aims to effectively exploit the Can Tho international airport while enhancing links in tourism and goods exchange between the Mekong Delta and other regions nationwide as well as foreign countries.

Put into operation in 2010, the airport offers flights to Hanoi, Phu Quoc island district in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, Con Dao island in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Taipei.

In 2013, the airport served 238,000 passengers, a far cry from its designed annual capacity of three million.-VNA