Vietnam Airlines welcomes 20 millionth passenger

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines welcomed the 20 millionth passenger aboard the 700,000th flight this year during a ceremony in Hanoi on December 7.

Illustrative image (Source: Vietnam Airlines)

Hanoi (VNA) – The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines welcomed the 20 millionth passenger aboard the 700,000th flight this year operated by the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) during a ceremony in Hanoi on December 7.

The lucky passenger is Mamoru Kato from Japan, the 19,999,999th is Oda Junichi from Japan and the 20,000,001th is Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy from Vietnam, who were aboard the flight from Japan’s Narita to Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Nhat urged Vietnam Airlines and the VATM to ensure the absolute safety of their flights, modernise equipment and improve the workforce quality, towards becoming one of the leading flight suppliers in Southeast Asia and one of the most popular carriers in Asia-Pacific.

This year, Vietnam Airlines is expected to transport 20.6 million passengers and successfully operate new fleets Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350.

The carrier was also certified as a four-star airline by the UK-based airline and airport rating organisation SkyTrax and welcomed Japan’s ANA Holdings as its strategic shareholder.

The VATM estimates to operate more than 742,000 flights this year, up 16 percent from 2015./.

VNA