A survey covering the period from February 13 to 22 (the 26th day of the last lunar month to the fourth or fifth day of the Lunar New Year) shows round-trip fares on the Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi route ranging from approximately VND6.9 million to VND7.3 million. Ticket prices vary little among airlines and are largely determined by departure times rather than carriers.

During the peak holiday period, airlines have stepped up capacity to meet rising travel needs. On major trunk routes, load factors reached 80-100% at an early stage, particularly on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to northern and central provinces ahead of the holiday, and on return routes after the Lunar New Year break.

However, even with a significant increase in flight frequency, supply has struggled to keep pace with the sharp rise in travel and tourism demand. On the Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi route in the days leading up to the holiday, most daytime flights have sold out of economy-class seats, leaving passengers with limited options such as higher-priced flexible fares or business-class tickets.

To ease capacity constraints, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has instructed the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) to implement night-flight operations at six airports, namely Tho Xuan, Dong Hoi, Chu Lai, Phu Cat, Pleiku and Tuy Hoa.

The night-flight programme will be in effect from February 1 to March 1, aiming to optimise airport operations and partially relieve congestion during the Lunar New Year travel peak.

For this year’s Lunar New Year holiday, Vietnamese employees will have a total of nine days off, from February 13 to 22.

Vietnam Airlines to operate more than 1,300 night flights during Tet holiday

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to operate more than 1,300 night flights from February 1 to March 3, offering nearly 300,000 seats to meet surging travel demand during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.