Previously, CAAV anticipated that the industry’s growth would be roughly more than 8 percent this year.

The head of the CAAV’s aviation transport division Vo Huy Cuong said that it had adjusted its forecast because a rebound in the global economy had been spotted. Domestic and foreign airlines also planned to increase flights to foreign markets.

With this year’s plan to receive an additional 16 new aircrafts, Vietnam Airlines expects to transport 11 million passengers, which is up 18 percent from the same period last year.

After officially opening its overseas representative office in France, the airline launched a direct route from Hanoi to Yangon on March 3 and plans to add nine new flights from Vietnam to Japan.

Jetstar Air Asia has also decided to increase its daily flights from eight to 14 on its Singapore – HCM City route starting in July.

Last year, the aviation industry grew by 8.4 percent over the previous year. The small increase was due to a decrease in foreign arrivals to the country in the wake of the global economic recession.

Despite the single-digit growth in terms of passenger number and cargo volume, the performance of Vietnam’s aviation market remains encouraging. Last year, global airline companies had to cope with weak air travel demand, as a result of the global downturn and the H1N1 flu pandemic.