Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed to issue aviation license to Vietravel Airlines, making it the sixth operational airline in Vietnam, local media reported.

Vietravel Airlines would be the sixth airline in Vietnam.

Under the PM’s request, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) is tasked with reviewing the airline’s financial capability to ensure its operationality and timely issuing the aviation license to Vietravel Airlines in accordance with law.

The PM noted the MoT and related agencies to take responsibility in keeping smooth air transportation and also aviation security in general.

Vietnam currently has five operational airlines which are national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, budget carrier Pacific Airlines (with a majority owned by Vietnam Airlines), Vietjet Aviation, Vietnam Air Services (VASCO) and Bamboo Airways.

At a recent business forum, Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of Vietravel, Vietnam’s leading tour operator and owner of Vietravel Airlines, said he expected the airline to make its first flight on December 18.

The airline plans to provide charter flights for the tour operator’s customers and other passengers.

In the first year of operation, Vietravel Airlines would operate a fleet of three airplanes and increase the number to eight by 2024.

On April 3, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung approved the proposal to set up Vietravel Airlines with charter capital of VND700 billion (US$29.72 million).

Amid the growing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent report from the Ministry of Transport suggested Vietnamese airlines could face losses of US$1.3 billion in revenue due to closed skies, up from estimated losses of VND10 trillion (US$429.1 million) in early February and VND25 trillion (US$1.07 billion) in late February.

The Vietnamese government targets domestic tourism as one of the key solutions to boost economic recovery in the post-Covid-19 period.