Vietnam Airlines aircraft. (Photo: Vietnamplus) Hanoi (VNA) - The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has proposed to the Ministry of Transport to solve problems in managing and exploiting slots (time of take-off and landing) on some international routes, in the context of Vietnamese airlines having a difficult time in maintaining its operation due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Losing flight slots in the UK, difficult to get in China
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese and Vietnam airlines had to stop all passenger transport operations and only maintained a few cargo flights.
Currently, Vietnamese airlines is operating about 25% and Chinese airlines is operating about 38% of their performances in the pre-epidemic period.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Vietnamese airlines are unable to maintain the slot utilization rate at Chinese airports in the summer 2023 flight schedule, so it is difficult for it to keep the slots for Summer 2024 schedule.
The approval of the Ministry of Transport as well as the aviation authorities of the two countries is required for the reservation of the historical slots, the Civil Aviation Administration said. It stands ready to support and create favourable conditions for the two countries’ airlines in expanding routes to meet the needs of recovering international tourism markets.
Regarding the exploitation of flight slots between Vietnam and the UK, the report of the Civil Aviation Authority shows that from the summer 2022 flight schedule, the UK Ministry of Transport requires airlines to ensure the flight rate of 70% to be able to keep historical slots at airports.
Vietnam Airlines aircraft. (Photo: Vietnamplus) Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam Airlines is facing difficulties in maintaining this ratio and has not been able to keep its slots for the 2023 summer flight schedule at London’s Heathrow airport (only operating 5 out of 7 flights per week). It has requested the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam send a document to the UK Aviation Authorities to support it in maintaining its slots at the airport.
In 2022, the Vietnam Aviation Administration sent letters twice and had a meeting with the UK Aviation Authorities asking for support in maintaining the slots for Vietnam Airlines at the airport. These efforts were unsuccessful since the UK Coordination Organization is an independent body and the UK Department for Transport cannot interfere in its operations.
Wish to increase flight frequency to India
Referring to the increase of the flight frequency to India, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam side said, it is not a problem for it to apply for slot confirmation from India. The problem is that, Vietnamese airlines have fully exploited the routes, flying to 4 major cities in India (Vietnamese airlines operates 28 flights/week, while Indian airlines operate 14/28 flights) according to regulations between the two aviation authorities.
On the other hand, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, through diplomatic channels, has asked India to consider increasing the frequency of flights to four major cities. However, the Indian side did not respond. Therefore, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the reason is that the Indian airlines have not yet exploited their allowed frequency.
Indian passengers on a flight between Da Nang and Ahmedabad. (Photo: Vietnamplus) The Civil Aviation Authority recommends that the Ministry of Transport, through diplomatic channels, continue to request India to organize a round of meetings related to increasing the flight frequency. The aviation authority also proposed including this recommendation in the working programs of the Vietnamese government’s high-level delegations to India./.
