Hanoi (VNA) – Various measures and policies will be carried out to raise airports’ capacity to serve 300 million passengers a year by 2030, 2.5 times higher than the figure forecast for 2025.
Speaking at the first Party Congress of the Ministry of Construction on August 5, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) Uong Viet Dung said that between 2015 and 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam’s aviation market recorded remarkable growth, averaging 14.3% per year in passenger traffic and 10% in cargo.
In 2019 alone, the market saw 79 million passengers and 1.25 million tonnes of cargo, double and 1.6 times higher than in 2015, respectively.
The pandemic dealt a severe blow between 2020 and 2022, shrinking the market to just one-fifth of the 2019 levels.
However, thanks to government support and strong recovery measures, the sector has bounced back. By the end of 2025, air carriers are expected to serve 84.1 million passengers and 1.4 million tonnes of cargo, already surpassing pre-pandemic figures.
Vietnam’s aviation market has also become more competitive with the entry of new carriers such as Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, BlueSky Airways and Sun Phu Quoc Airways, bringing the total number of local airlines to 13. The commercial fleet has grown from 134 aircraft in 2015 to 254 in 2024, including modern ones like Boeing 787s, Airbus A350s, and A321s. The flight network has also been expanded with 52 domestic routes and 211 international connections.
To keep pace with rising demand, Dung noted, Vietnam has invested heavily in airport infrastructure. New projects include Van Don International Airport, the upgrades to major gateways such as Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, Dien Bien, Phu Bai, Cat Bi, Quang Tri and Binh Thuan. Construction is also underway at Long Thanh International Airport, envisioned as one of Southeast Asia’s largest hubs.
Several other sites, including Van Phong, Mang Den and Ninh Binh, are being studied for future development.
The current airport system basically keeps up with the sector’s growth and has contributed significantly to socio-economic development, said Dung.
He also emphasised that aviation safety remains a priority, noting that Vietnam has not recorded any accidents in nearly 30 years. In 2024, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rated Vietnam’s safety oversight capacity at over 78%, higher than the global benchmark of 75%.
Despite strong growth, the aviation sector faces several challenges. Adjustments to policies and regulations remain slow, while infrastructure investment still lacks coordination and long-term vision. Airlines remain small in scale, with limited financial, technological and personnel capacity, making them vulnerable to economic shock, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks.
Vietnam also faces stiff competition from regional rivals such as Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, which are established tourist and transit hubs.
The aviation sector strives to become a strategic and modern economic sector with regional and international competitiveness. It eyes a double-digit annual growth rate and strives to be among the top in the Asia-Pacific region.
To realise the goals, the CAAV will continue to innovate and fine-tune policies for sustainable development.
The plan includes developing two world-class international airports – Long Thanh in the south and Gia Binh in the north – each with four runways to serve as major regional transit hubs. The national fleet is expected to grow to more than 400 aircraft by 2030, develop cargo-specialised airlines, and increase international routes, especially long-haul ones connecting key airport of Vietnam with new destinations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.
The industry will also step up digital transformation, strongly adopt advanced technology, train high-quality human resources, improve the service ecosystem, and promote green and sustainable transition as Vietnam is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050./.
