Vietravel Airlines receives business license for air transport

It still needs the air operator certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and approval as part of the country’s aviation security program to ensure safety.

Based at Phu Bai International Airport in the central Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietravel Airlines, belonging to leading tourism company Vietravel, was licensed in April with a charter capital of VND700 billion ($30.1 million)

Nguyen Quoc Ky, Vietravel chairman, said earlier this month that the airline’s maiden flight would be on December 18 this year instead of in the first half of 2021 as originally planned.

It was because the Covid-19 pandemic forced the company to change its strategy and "wholly" focus on the domestic market, he explained.

The company, which already operates charter flights, has said it hopes to carry at least one million passengers in the first year.

It will enter a fiercely competitive aviation market which already has five players: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), and recent entrant Bamboo Airways.

They have carried 25.3 million passengers this year, down nearly 45 percent year-on-year due to flight restrictions meant to combat Covid-19.