Vietjet seeks to open a flight to Con Dao Island

By Anh Tu   December 19, 2018 | 07:39 pm PT
Vietjet seeks to open a flight to Con Dao Island
A VietJet aircraft prepares for landing at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport in a file photo. Photo by Reuters/Kham
The low-cost airline wants to operate 4-6 flights a day to Con Dao Island from Hanoi and HCMC.

Vietjet Air has requested the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the corporation in charge of all of Vietnam’s airports, for permission to operate air routes to the Con Dao airport in southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province.

Vietjet Air said that the company has agreed with its partners to provide two or three Airbus A319 carriers, that can seat 160 passengers, for the proposed flights to Con Dao. The routes Vietjet is proposing are Hanoi – Con Dao and HCMC – Con Dao with four to six flights a day.

Currently Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), a subsidiary of national carrier Vietnam Airlines, is the only company operating flights between Con Dao airport, HCMC and southern Can Tho City using ATR-72 aircraft, which are smaller aircraft that can seat 78 passengers. VASCO operates 20 flights a day on these routes.

Currently, Con Dao Airport is only licensed to operate smaller commercial planes such as the ATR-72 and to run 12 hours a day. The airport cannot operate after dark because it lacks a runway lighting system. The airport can accommodate 400,000 passengers per year. 

In late April, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho discussed with the Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee a development plan for Con Dao airport until 2020, with orientation until 2030.

Accordingly, Con Dao Airport will be upgraded to be able to host bigger commercial turbojets. Additional terminals may be constructed to handle 2 million passengers per year.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) license upgrade will be a crucial precondition for Vietjet to be able to carry out its plans to operate A319 at Con Dao airport.

Con Dao Island, a favored tourism destination in Vietnam, welcomed 286,171 visitors in the first 11 months of this year, up 17.31 percent from a year ago, according to the Con Dao National Park Management Board.

 
 
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