VietNamNet Bridge - The limited capacity of key airports could hinder the growth of the aviation market in the medium term, experts have said.

According to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), in the first nine months of the year, the number of passengers increased sharply by 29.6 percent compared with the last year’s same period to 60.5 million. This included 17.5 million foreign passengers, an increase of 25.2 percent, or 29 percent of total passengers. Meanwhile, the number of domestic travelers increased by 31.5 percent to 43 million, or 71 percent of total passengers.

However, the expansion of T2 Terminal at Noi Bai Airport in 2015 and the terminal at Hai Phong Airport in May 2016 has helped ACV ease the overloading. 

But experts have warned that continued overloading at Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang and Cam Ranh airports will slow growth at the airports.

The rapid expansion of Vietjet, a budget airline, has led to a sharp increase in the number of passengers. Vietjet customers accounted for 41.4 percent of total passengers on domestic flights in the first half of 2016. Vietnam Airlines’ passengers accounted for 42.5 percent. 

In June 2016, Vietjet held 43.1 percent of the market share, while Vietnam Airlines had 41.3 percent.

In addition, Vietnam has been increasingly integrating into world trade and becoming a production base, which is expected to boost growth of air cargo transportation. 

Business Monitor International (BMI) predicts that Vietnam’s volume of goods to be carried by air may increase by 6.5-7 percent in the 2015-2019 period.

ACV operates 21 existing airports in Vietnam, and holds a 10 percent stake of Cam Ranh Airport after capital disinvestment in 2016. The corporation has put its shares on the bourse.

Aeroport de Paris (ADP) has expressed its intent to become a strategic shareholder of ACV with expected ownership ratio of 25-30 percent. ADP has joined forces with Credit Suisse, the Vietnam Ministry of Transport and ACV to mobilize $2-3 billion capital for the building of Long Thanh Airport. 

Vietnam Airlines has said it wants to take over the terminal reserved for domestic passengers at Noi Bai Airport from ACV, while Vietjet wants Terminal No 1 at the airport. 

T&T Group, a conglomerate which has injected money into many business fields owned by billionaire Do Quang Hien, is asking for permission to invest in Phu Quoc Airport, which is now wholly owned by ACV. 

In recent news, IPP, the corporation of Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, a well-known businessman, has asked for permission to expand the terminal for international travelers at Noi Bai Airport.

Nam Lich