Hotels call for more flights to Cam Ranh airport

Hotels in the central province of Khanh Hoa Thursday suggested airlines increase flight frequency from the country’s main cities to the Cam Ranh International Airport to meet rising demand of tourists.
In a meeting with the provincial People’s Committee, 21 three to five star hotels, including Sunrise Nha Trang. Ana Mandara, and Yasaka Saigon Nha Trang, said hat 10 to 20 percent of their customers have canceled bookings since February after failing to get flight tickets to Cam Ranh International Airport in the province.
Tour operators have also complained that it was difficult to purchase tickets on the Hanoi-Cam Ranh, HCMC-Cam Ranh and Da Nang-Cam Ranh routes, the hotels said.
Pham Dinh Giang, deputy director of Cam Ranh International Airport, said Vietnam Airlines, the country’s largest carrier, currently operates six flights to the airport every day and all of them are normally full.
Nguyen Lam Phi, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said it would soon send a proposal to increase flights to Cam Ranh to the Ministry of Transport and the national flag carrier.
In the first three months of this year, more than 145,000 passengers arrived and departed from Cam Ranh International Airport, up 9 percent from a year earlier.
The Khanh Hoa administration and the Ministry of Transport plans to hold a meeting in May with 26 airlines to call on them to open international routes to the airport.
Cam Ranh became an international airport in December last year with the landing of Singapore-based carrier Silk Air’s first flight.
The 750-ha airport, situated 35 kilometers from Nha Trang Town, has the country’s longest runway that can handle aircraft like Boeing 767, 777 and Airbus 321, 300-600. Its VND200 billion (US$10 million) terminal has a capacity to serve 800 passengers per hour.