Nearly 500 flights delayed during Tet holidays

Passengers receive their baggage at the Tan Son Nhat Airport on January 31 (Photo news.zing.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) - Nearly 500, or 10.1 percent, of the over 4,780flights operating during the six-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays weredelayed, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has said.

Another 18 flights were cancelled, it has reported.

At least 77.5 percent of the flights were delayed because oflate arrivals, said Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of CAAV.

Some 22.2 percent of the flights were delayed because oftechnical malfunctions, poor service at airports and flight managementproblems. Poor weather conditions also contributed to the problem, he added.

According to the CAAV report, from January 26 to 31,airlines across the country handled more than 1.47 million passengers, anincrease of 20.3 percent, and 9,400 tonnes of cargo, 28.2 percent more whencompared to the same period last year.

Airlines added 1,270 flights to meet the increasing demandin the country before and after the Tet holidays.

VietJet Air added more than 560 flights; Vietnam Airlinesadded 380 flights, while Jeststar Pacific added 330 flights to accommodate morepassengers.

The railway sector catered to some 200,610 passengers duringthe six-day Lunar New Year festival, an increase of 69.44 percent compared tothe same period last year, the Ministry of Transport reported.-VNA

VNA