Air cargo transport plunges

By Thi Ha March 6, 2023 | 03:34 pm PT

An aircraft flies over Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Aviation cargo transport passing through Vietnam’s airports dropped 28.2% year-on-year in the first two months of 2023 to 168,000 tons, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Industry insiders say that the spreading global economic recession has led to a decline in consumption. Although China has reopened its economy, the delivery of Chinese materials and goods to other countries has not fully resumed yet.

Do Xuan Quang, deputy CEO of Vietjet Air, said that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is also limiting global deliveries even though shipping costs have dropped.

Vietjet Air has seen its cargo transport fall from nearly 100,000 tons in previous years to around 65,000 tons last year, Quang told VnExpress.

Vietnam Airlines Group transport in the first two months also declined from the same period in recent years. The company did not reveal by how much.

A representative of an air cargo transportation company, who asked not be identified, said that in the first two months of the year delivery from Vietnam to Japan plunged 20% year-on-year.

Other routes that the company operates still have not recovered from Covid-19.

Data from the CAAV shows that domestic cargo in the first two months rose slightly year-on-year to 51,000 tons, while international cargo fell 37.3% to 117,000 tons.

Domestic airlines delivered only 42,500 tons in the period, down 14.2% year-on-year.

The Vietnam Logistics Association (VLA) expects air cargo transport in Vietnam to recover later this year, but slowly as there are many uncertainties in the global market.

This is shown by transportation data from local logistics companies. The industry is capable of delivering 1.5-2 million tons a year but currently they are shipping only nearly 1 million tons.

The busiest route in the country, HCMC to Hanoi, is operating at only one-third of cargo capacity.

Dang Anh Tuan, a media representative of Vietnam Airlines, said that there is still a niche market for aviation transport, such as delivering high-end tech equipment.

Vietnam’s cargo transport market is dominated by foreign airlines. There are 29 international carriers which are specialized in delivering cargo and they account for over 80% of market share.

Vietnamese companies, however, are seeking to change that.

Vietravel Airlines last year launched its own cargo carrier Vietravel Airlines Cargo in partnership with HCMC-based Asean Cargo Gateway.

Earlier this year Bamboo Airways established Bamboo Airways Cargo.