The Prime Minister will consider granting air transport licence to Vietstar One Member Limited Liability Company (Vietstar) only after the upgradation of Tan Son Nhat airport, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The office sent a letter to this effect to the Ministry of Transport, which has been pushing for the licence to be given to Vietstar.

The airport revamp project, which includes the construction of additional passenger terminals and aircraft parking areas, scheduled to be completed by 2020, must follow the plan approved by Prime Minister.

In March 2016, the owners of Vietstar had submitted a proposal to relevant authorities for a licence for Vietstar Airlines Multirole Corporation (Vietstar Airlines), but the finance ministry had rejected the proposal on the basis that the company had not met the capital requirement for offering passenger and goods transport services.

A little over six months later, on October 14, 2016, the transport ministry sent a request to the Government office to grant air transport business licence to Vietstar One Member Limited Liability Company, which had been set up in June 2016 with a capital of VND300 billion (US$13.3 million) in HCM City.

If Vietstar’s investment plan gets the PM’s nod, it will start operating its flights with a fleet of seven aircraft, of which five specialise in passenger transport (Airbus A320, A321 and Boeing 737), and two specialise in cargo transport (Boeing 737-300 Freighter). It would be the first airline in the country to use specialised aircraft for cargo transport.

The company plans to operate routes that link the north and south of Viet Nam, as well as flights to North and Southeast Asia. It is expected to have the capacity to carry 561,000 travellers and 32,000 tonnes of cargo in the first year of its operation. — VNS