 Southern Airports
Corporation, airlines, travel firms and representatives from provincial
authorities gathered on July 27 to discuss how to get more traffic to three
newly-opened international airports.
Vietnam’s
airport system includes airports in the north, south and central regions.
The southern region now has eight airports, but only one– Tan Son Nhat
–serves 20-25 million passengers a year. In the near future, the region will
also have Long Thanh airport, which can receive 100 million passengers a
year. Meanwhile, three airports
have the advantage of being located near tourist sites and will be developed
into important airports. Now is the right time for
Vietnam
to call on air carriers to open air routes to these airports.
“There will be air routes
to Cambodia,
Thailand, Singapore,
Malaysia and northeastern Asia,
and the strategic foundation is their advantageous position. They are
located in key tourism centres,” noted Lai Xuan Thanh, Deputy Head of the
Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV). Phu
Quoc Island is one,
with Phu
Quoc International
Airport, which will be developed into a
high-grade tourism and service centre and a regional financial zone. A
casino will also be built on the island in the future.
Can Tho Airport, just
seven kilometers Can Tho, will be the hub of the whole Mekong Delta.
Lien
Khuong Airport
is also considered advantageous for tourism, because it is located in Da Lat
City, an area with cool weather all year-round.
Deputy Chairm of Lam Dong
province’s People’s Committee Hoang Sy Son remarked that the province’s
authorities are working with Vietnamese and Singaporean airlines on opening
direct air routes on Lien Khuong-Singapore.
Vo Huy Cuong from CAAV
revealed that the budget airline, Thai Air Asia, is also considering direct
air routes from Lien Khuong to international fly points.
“These are all very
important tourism destinations for
Vietnam, so it is very important to develop
international airports,” observed Nguyen Van Tuan, General Director of the
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. “Aviation and tourism are
considered as an airplane’s two wings and both are very important.”
Thanh from CAAV affirmed
that they will create favourable conditions for airlines to open air routes.
Fees on many kinds of services will be reduced by 50 percent, and the
preferences will last up to three years.
Source: Tuoi tre, VnExpress
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