The national flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced the temporary suspension of flights to and from the central Highlands city of Pleiku from March 15 to October 25 due to scheduled expansion work on the Pleiku airport.

Customers with booked seats on flights to and from Pleiku during the airport upgrade will be eligible for full ticket reimbursements or have the option to change their tickets to flights to the alternate Buon Ma Thuot and Quy Nhon airports.

To facilitate access to Pleiku during the airport closure, the carrier is planning to add 10 additional flights to nearby Quy Nhon each week, with seven from Ho Chi Minh City and three from Hanoi.

Flights connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Pleiku were operated during the day from December 1, 2014 to March 28, 2015 in compliance with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s decision to discontinue the use of the airfield lighting system.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) began upgrades to the Pleiku Airport in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on September 28, 2014. According to the master plan, the airport’s runway, taxiway, hangers and other facilities will be upgraded and expanded to the west.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.-VNA