The Hanoitimes - Suspension of flights between Vietnam and China leads to potential losses of 400,000 passengers per month and VND10 trillion (US$430 million) in revenue for Vietnamese airlines. Vietnamese airlines served 870,000 foreign passengers in February, a decline of 39.5% year-on-year, while the suspension of flight routes between Vietnam and China could lead to a potential loss of over VND10 trillion (US$430 million) in revenue for the aviation industry. Illustratiave photo. In total, local airlines served 3.7 million passengers in February, down 13.7% year-on-year, including 870,000 foreign and 2.8 million domestic passengers, down 0.7%, data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) revealed. Additionally, the number of passengers arriving at Vietnamese airports reached 8.1 million in February, down 11.6% year-on-year, including 2.4 millions of foreign passengers, down 29.8% and 5.7 million domestic passengers, falling by 0.7%. On February 1, the CAAV announced its suspension of all flights between Vietnam and China at the request of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a key measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 epidemic. As the number of flights between the two countries accounts for 26.1% of total number of international flights from airlines in Vietnam, the decision is predicted to cause losses of 400,000 passengers per month and over VND10 trillion (US$430 million) in revenue, stated the Ministry of Transport (MoT). Subsequently, national carrier Vietnam Airlines, budget airlines Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific and Chinese airlines have to cancel a combined 80 flights per day. Notably, Vietnam Airlines has canceled 1,000 flights to and from the Chinese market in February, causing a loss of VND200 – 250 billion (US$8.61 – 10.76 million) in revenue per week. The carrier also estimated a 50% decline in the number of its international passengers transport, and even 70 – 80% in passengers from East Asia during the …
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