Flight delays, cancellations show no sign of letup in Vietnam

• Construction of new southern international airport to begin by 2019: Deputy PM
• Saigon airport to reduce flights during rush hour
• PM orders investigation into "lasering" of airplanes at Hanoi airport

Poor infrastructure, overloaded airports and various security problems have continued to cause delays and flight cancellations in the first six months of this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has said in a report.

Delayed flights accounted for 15.8 percent of the 128,000 flights that took off in the first half, an increase of 0.8 from the same period last year. Canceled flights made up 0.6 percent, a 0.1 increase on-year, the report said.

Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, blamed the problem on the spike in 27,000 flights, upping by 26.5 percent, from the same period in 2015.

“Vietnam’s flight service providers have made great efforts to lower the number of delayed and canceled flights," Thanh said. But he also admitted that the infrastructure at Vietnam's airports, especially Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, still has a lot of room for improvement.

Multiple violations of aviation regulations have also badly affected flight schedules, according to the report.

Related news:

> Construction of new southern international airport to begin by 2019: Deputy PM

> Saigon airport to reduce flights during rush hour

> PM orders investigation into "lasering" of airplanes at Hanoi airport