According to CAAV’s report to the Ministry of Transport, there will be two one-way routes for the Hanoi-HCM City and HCM CIty-Hanoi flight path, which will run in parallel.

CAAV Director Lai Xuan Thanh said the most fundamental difference between the proposed routes and the current route is horizontal separation and two parallel, closed one-way routes. The current route is a two-way route with vertical separation.

"The one-way routes will make the landing and take-off at the airports of Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai more reasonable, which can shorten the flying time," Thanh said.

The proposed routes have not been tested on the flight simulator, but the analytic results on the specialized software of Vietnam Airlines Corporation shows positive results for both routes.

The flying time for the one-way route between Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai will be five minutes shorter than the current route, and the time for the one-way route from Noi Bai to Tan Son Nhat will be six minutes shorter.

The two proposed routes are supported by the Air Force and Air Defense and the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense.

Compared with direct routes that were recently tested by VietJet Air and Vietnam Airlines, the CAAV said the flying time was not much different. but the one-way routes would better facilitate flight operation control at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports.

The two routes will pass through the airspace of Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam will discuss the issue with the two neighboring countries this month, Thanh said.

HN-HCM City 'golden' air route to be decided this month

The Ministry of Transport this month will decide whether a straight air route linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over the Lao and Cambodian airspaces will be operated or not, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong has said.

At a press briefing on the ministry’s Q3 plan in Hanoi on October 7, Truong said flight simulator (SIM) tests conducted by the CAAV and VietJet Air showed that the proposed new route is 86km shorter than the current one, saving five minutes of flying time and 190kg of fuel.

The results were also verified by experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Thailand and Vietnam , he said.

Being aware of the potential of the route, dubbed “golden air route”, the ministry has set up a team for further research of the project, said Truong.

However, the new route flies over Laos and Cambodia , Vietnam has to pay fee for using their airspaces. Therefore, a working team comprising CAAV members and representatives from the MoT’s Department for External Relations was also established for negotiations with these two countries.

Once all parties agreed on a specific fee, it is possible to calculate detailed efficiency, he said, adding that a final report on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route will be announced this month.

In March 2009, the CAAV received a proposal for the Hanoi-HCM City straight air route from former pilot Mai Trong Tuan.

The proposed air route would mean flights between the capital and the southern economic hub traverse Lao and Cambodian airspace, rather than the ocean, no longer following Vietnam's "S" shaped coastline.