Vietnam in air services talks with dialogue partners

Vietnam’s transport authorities are stepping forward negotiations on air services with ASEAN dialogue partners after the Government’s approval for the Multilateral Agreement for the Full Liberalization of Passenger Air Services (MAFLPAS).
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told the Daily that local transport authorities had joined in several rounds of negotiations with Chinese counterparts and prepared for talks with India, Korea and probably Japan that also wanted to have an air services pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
CAAV said such negotiations would mainly be based on the agreements on cargo and passenger air services signed by member nations of ASEAN, a fast-growing region of around 600 million people.
As part of the bloc, Vietnam is emerging as a market of great potential for foreign airlines because of its steady annual double-digit growth in aviation, even in tough times when the world’s economic slowdown dealt heavy blows to the global airline industry.
Deputy Minister of Transport Pham Quy Tieu told a review meeting in Hanoi earlier this month that airports in Vietnam had been able to handle more than 105 million passengers and 2.2 million tons of cargo in the past five years, registering average annual increases of 15% in passenger number and 12% in cargo volume.
CAAV said that Vietnam was now completing procedures and preparations for the ASEAN open skies market in 2015 as pledged by the member nations. A growing ASEAN aviation market promises business opportunities for airlines from not only the four dialogue partners but also Europe and America.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh passed the MAFLPAS and relevant protocols as a testament to the country’s commitment to joining the ASEAN open skies market in 2015 in order to help bolster regional economic integration, transport connectivity and tourism development in the bloc.
Vietnam and other member nations inked the MAFLPAS at the 16th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting in Brunei Darussalam in November last year. Also at this important event, they clinched a Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN Air Services Engagement with Dialogue Partners.
Deputy PM Ninh told the Ministry of Transport to collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies to implement the MAFLPAS and the MoU.
* Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has told the Ministry of Transport and Haiphong City to work on a build-transfer investment form for expansion of Cat Bi International Airport in the northern city.
The expansion will cover upgrade of the current runway and auxiliary components as well as construction of a second runway of 3,050 meters in length and 50 meter in width for Airbus A321 aircraft and Boeing B767 and B747-400 planes to land and take off at the airport in Hai An District.
The expansion is outlined in a zoning plan for 2015 and with a vision until 2025 as approved by the Government to enable the airport to handle more passengers and cargo. This plan requires more than VND1.7 trillion (over US$81 million).
A new terminal will be built to increase Cat Bi Airport’s annual handling capacity to two million passengers and 17,000 tons of cargo by 2015 and four million passengers and 82,000 tons respectively by 2025.
Last year, Cat Bi Airport saw nearly 500,000 passengers get on and disembark from more than 3,600 flights. Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific are the two local operators of daily flights to and from the airport.