Airlines benefit from service fee cuts at Vietnam’s int’l airports

Aiming to get more foreign tourists to Viet Nam, the Government is granting a 50 per cent discount to airlines with flights to and from five local airports by end-2015.

The discount, to be granted within a three-year time frame, will be for international flights to and from Phu Bai Airport in central Thua Thien-Hue Province, Cam Ranh Airport in central Khanh Hoa Province and Lien Khuong Airport in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) Lam Dong Province, along with Can Tho Airport in southernmost Can Tho Province and Phu Quoc Airport in southern Kien Giang Province.

The discount, cited in the transport ministry’s decision on airport service fees this year, will be applied to services such as take-off and landing, flight control and security checks.

It is part of the transport ministry’s plan to enhance the management of aviation and non-aviation service fees.

The plan is to ensure that the fees are in line with the country’s market mechanisms and are competitive with those of other ASEAN nations. It also aims to ensure the development of the domestic aviation industry.

Vo Huy Cuong, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, said that of the five airports, only Cam Ranh Airport and Phu Quoc Airport were currently on the itinerary of international airlines.

So far, Vietnam Airlines is the only domestic carrier with international flights to and from Cam Ranh Airport.

Other domestic carriers such as Vietjet Air and Jestar Pacific are so far limited to international flights to and from Noi Bai Airport here and Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City.

Source: VNA