Vietnam doubles night flights to ease congestion at largest airport

From January 5 to February 6, Vietnamese carriers will be allowed to add 100 flights between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. on domestic routes connecting HCMC with 12 popular tourist hotspots including Hanoi, Phu Yen, Lam Dong, Quang Binh, Hue and Da Nang.

Currently, Tan Son Nhat Airport operates 106 passenger flights every night.

The number of passengers during Tet, the Lunar New Year festival and Vietnam’s largest holiday, is set to skyrocket, prompting aviation authorities to increase night flights to avoid overloads.

Earlier, aviation authorities also added 20 new daily domestic flights, equivalent to 3,000 seats, to and from HCMC from January 6 to February 5.

In Vietnam, Tet prompts millions of migrant workers from major cities to return to their home provinces, as well as masses of holiday-goers flocking to tourism areas.

The upcoming Lunar New Year falls on January 22 and the government has approved a national seven-day holiday from January 20-26.

Vietnam's domestic travel has been booming post-Covid.

In 2019, Vietnam's pre-pandemic aviation industry was experiencing annual double-digit growth of 116 million passengers.

This year CAAV expects to serve 100 million air passengers.