On March 23, Noi Bai International Airport, the second largest airport in Vietnam, witnessed a record low number of international flights and international travelers.

Six flights on the day were cancelled, two others were re-directed, and only four flights to Noi Bai were reported. All 276 passengers landing in Noi Bai that day were Vietnamese.

In 2019, the airport every day received 31,200 international travelers. One
flight took off or landed every two minutes.

The only busy area now at the airport is the quarantine area. Very few taxis are outside T2 Terminal. All international travelers entering Vietnam are carried directly to isolation zones.

In a report released in mid-February 2020, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) estimated that the losses caused by the epidemic may reach VND25 trillion. In early March, the ministry raised the estimated losses to VND30 trillion.

For Vietnam Airlines, the suspension of the air routes to China and the reduction of numbers of flights to other markets alone have caused the loss of VND12 trillion in revenue and the profit decrease of VND5.88 trillion.

For Vietnam Airlines, the suspension of the air routes to China and the reduction of numbers of flights to other markets alone have caused the loss of VND12 trillion in revenue and the profit decrease of VND5.88 trillion.

Meanwhile, Jetstar Pacific predicted the loss of revenue of VND732 billion.

The figures would be higher if counting the other international air routes that have stopped since the beginning of March and the decrease in number of domestic passengers as a result of the policy on restricted travel.

To overcome the difficulties, some airlines have reduce managers’ salaries, encouraged workers to take unpaid leave, and negotiated with partners on suspending aircraft chartering contracts.

Having no passengers, airlines still have to spend money to maintain their operation. The biggest fixed expense item is aircraft chartering.

With wide-body aircraft (A350, B787), the charter and maintenance fee is $1 million for every aircraft, while the figure is $350,000 a month for narrow-body aircraft (A320, A321).

They also have to pay for parking fee, VND13.5 million for each aircraft a month.

Vietnam Airlines has more than 100 aircraft, and Vietjet over 80, while Jetstar Pacific and Bamboo Airways have 20 each.

ACV predicted that the number of passengers to go through 21 airports put under ACV management willdecrease by 40 percent compared with 2019. Its profit is predicted to decrease by VND10 trillion this year.

Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) has reported that the total number of flights it managed had decreased by 40 percent in February compared with the same period last year. The figure is expected to continue to be 47 percent in March.

Thanh Mai 

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