Air travel demand resumes as Covid-19 contained

Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiaries, Pacific Airlines and Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), are recording a load factor of 90 percent on some routes.

Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central Highlands town of Buon Ma Thuot are 93 percent full, while the rate for flights to the central town of Cam Ranh in Nha Trang is 83 percent.

Flights from Hanoi to the central towns of Dong Hoi, Hue and Cam Ranh are 96 percent, 93 percent and 83 percent full.

Most passengers are booked between Friday and Monday, just before the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday begins on Wednesday.

This is in stark contrast with January-end when the carriers saw a surge in the number of tickets being canceled and rescheduled after a new Covid-19 wave began in northern Vietnam. Flights to Hai Phong City and Hanoi were particularly affected.

Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiaries will stick to their plan to sell 2.4 million seats for the holidays.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has recently increased the number of night flights (from 12 a.m. to 5.59 a.m.) at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City from 32 per hour to 36 to meet rising travel demand.

Vietjet recently offered 100,000 new promotional tickets.

The number of new Covid-19 cases detected daily has been decreasing since January 28, with 19 on Friday taking the total in the current outbreak to 402.

Hai Duong Province leads with 293 cases, followed by Quang Ninh Province (47).