Transport ministry proposes Hanoi-HCMC route resumption

By Doan Loan October 7, 2021 | 05:29 am PT

A Bamboo Airways aircraft parks at Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Linh

The Ministry of Transport proposed two options Thursday for resuming flights on the Hanoi-HCMC route after the capital city said it was not ready for the resumption yet.

The proposal sent to Hanoi authorities suggests two return flights on the route be operated a day; or four one-way daily flights from the capital to the southern metropolis.

For other domestic routes, the ministry also asked Hanoi to comment on the possibility of connecting with each locality, specifically.

In case the Hanoi People's Committee fails to respond to the two options, the ministry will refrain from granting a license flights on the Hanoi-HCMC route starting this Sunday (October 10), while allowing other routes to be serviced, based on the consensus of localities.

Also Thursday, the Vietnam Aviation Business Association requested localities to create favorable conditions for resuming commercial flights this Sunday, especially those to Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, the country’s largest airports.

VABA said if Hanoi continued to delay reopening the Noi Bai Airport, it would inflict severe damage on the aviation industry and become an obstacle on the country’s economic recovery roadmap.

The association said that the vaccination rate in Hanoi and HCMC was quite high, enabling people to easily travel by air.

According to the association, the resumption of domestic routes with cheap tickets will enable people in the south to return to their hometowns safely, without having to ride motorbikes for thousands of kilometers as has been happening.

Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) had sought opinions from 20 provinces and cities that have airports on gradually resuming flights. Hanoi is one of three localities that have called for postponing the reopening, the others being Hai Phong City and Gia Lai Province.

Hanoi Chairman Chu Ngoc Anh said Wednesday that the resumption of air travel needs a controlled roadmap to ensure pandemic prevention. When aviation authorities allow the resumption of flights to the Noi Bai Airport, it would have tens of thousands of passengers from all over the country flock to Hanoi, posing high risks of further outbreaks of Covid-19.

Hanoi has recorded over 4,200 cases in the ongoing wave.