Vietnamese aviation market forecast to recover from mid-Q3

According to Dinh Viet Thang, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), when the COVID-19 vaccination process had been accelerated in Vietnam and around the world in general, the Vietnamese aviation market is likely to recover.

Up-and-down period of aviation industry

According to a report by the CAAV, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a tumultuous period to the world aviation industry.

The world aviation industry was estimated to have suffered a dramatic 60% drop in the number of passengers over 2020, equivalent to about 2.89 billion passengers, with a revenue deficit of US$327 billion, of which the Asia-Pacific region recorded the strongest fall of US$107 billion, the report said.

For the Vietnamese aviation market, 2020 was a challenging time for the aviation industry due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order restricting flights and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus had caused many international routes to be suspended, the report said.

In 2021, Vietnam's aviation market has continued to face challenges as the pandemic is still ravaging.

At present, there are only 30 foreign airlines from Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East and France operating flights to transport diplomats, experts, investors, skilled workers, foreign students and cargo to and from Vietnam, the report said.

Thus, domestic airlines had already used most of their fleets to operate domestic routes with skyrocketing capacity in both frequency and number of routes, the report said.

Accordingly, the number of routes of domestic airlines had reached 62, an increase of 10 routes compared to 2019.

However, since May 31, domestic passenger transport by air had dropped seriously to only 20-30% compared to the March-April period this year.

Due to the inactivity of many aircraft, parking space has been overloaded at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.

The CAAV had to adjust the operating schedule so the aircraft could park overnight at other airports, the report said.

After international flight operations are gradually restored, 20-30% of fleets of domestic airlines would no longer stay overnight at the airports because international flights to Europe and Northeast Asia would be run overnight, Thang said.

Aviation sector to begin recovering in mid-Q3

CAAV statistics show that 26.8 million of passengers and 668,000 tonnes of goods passed through Vietnam’s airports in the first six months of 2021, down 19.4%, and up 12.7% year-on-year, respectively.

It is forecast that the aviation sector will record recovery in 2021, especially in the second half when vaccinations against COVID-19 are accelerated in Vietnam in particular and the world in general.

Thang said many key markets of Vietnam's aviation sector, including Northeast Asia and Europe, could achieve herd immunity soon as a basis for gradually reopening international air transport by the end of the third quarter or at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year.

Regarding airport infrastructure, the CAAV reported that the aviation industry has completed on schedule and put into operation the first phase of a project to improve runways at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports.

The second phase of the project to upgrade the runway 1B at Noi Bai International Airport is also being urgently implemented and is expected to be completed in July 2021. The project is hoped to promptly meet the demand for re-operation of airlines after the 4th wave of COVID-19 outbreaks.