At Phu Bai International Airport (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung recently signed DecisionNo. 457/QD-TTg approving the Vietravel Airlines project of Vietravel - one ofthe country’s largest tour operators.
With investment of 700 billion VND (30.4 million USD), the project aims toprovide domestic and overseas air transport services and contribute toimproving the capacity of Vietnam’s air transport and tourism as well as socio-economicdevelopment amid global integration.
It will be put into operation at Phu Bai International Airport in the central provinceof Thua Thien Hue and have a lifespan of 50 years.
During its first year of operation, the carrier will use three Airbus, Boeing,or equivalent aircraft, which will then rise to eight by its fifth year.
Vietnam currently has five operational airlines: national flag carrier VietnamAirlines, budget carrier Jetstar Pacific (majority-owned by Vietnam Airlines),Vietjet Air, Vietnam Air Services (VASCO), and Bamboo Airways. Two others -Kite Air and Vietstar Air - are awaiting operational authorization.
Vietnamese airlines are among many around the world suffering heavy losses fromthe impact of COVID-19. The transport ministry has put the initial damage fromsuspending flights at some 30 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD).
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam recently issued two scenarios. Thefirst is that if the disease is controlled before the end of April, the totalnumber of passengers this year will reach 67 million, down 15 percent against2019.
In the second, where the market worsens but the pandemic is controlled in thesecond quarter, passenger numbers will stand at 61.2 million, down 22.6 percentyear-on-year./.
