An aircraft of Bamboo Airways. Five Vietnamese airlines are exploiting 50 domestic routes connecting Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City with 18 local airports in the local market. — Photo flc.vn

The Viet Nam Association on Aviation Science and Technology and Bamboo Airways plan to hold a seminar on opportunities and challenges when opening Viet Nam-US direct flights.

'Viet Nam-US direct flight: ready for taking off' will be held on August 1 at Bamboo Airways Theater, 36th Floor, Bamboo Airways Tower, 265 Cau Giay Street, Ha Noi.

In February 2019, Viet Nam was officially granted Category 1 rating certification (CAT1) by the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Vietnamese airlines to fly direct to the US.

While this brings obvious opportunities, the exploitation of the Viet Nam-US direct route also poses significant challenges in terms of legal, economic, technical and commercial issues.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the number of passengers travelling by plane worldwide in the next 20 years is expected to reach 7.2 billion, increasing approximately two times compared with the figure of 3.8 billion in 2016.

Regarding the domestic market, five Vietnamese airlines are operating 50 domestic routes connecting Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City with 18 local airports. There are currently 68 foreign airlines from 25 countries/regions and five domestic airlines operating in Viet Nam, running nearly 130 international routes to 29 countries and territories.

Vietnamese airlines have been encouraged by senior national leaders to get more involved with the international aviation industry, with the US identified as a key tourism market.

The market capacity between Viet Nam and the US in 2017 rose to over 700,000 passengers with average growth in 2010-17 of more than 8 per cent annually. According to the US Embassy, in 2018, the number of Vietnamese traveling to this country achieved an impressive growth of 107,000 people. — VNS