The Vietnamese aviation market would suffer more damages than any estimations made so far due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Transport.

An airplane of Jetstar Pacific. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

The ministry has said in a report sent to the prime minister that from April 1 to 23, the number of air travelers was only equivalent to 1-2% of the total before the pandemic. Most of the airplanes are grounded.

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines Corporation (VNA) announced its consolidated revenue in the first quarter decreased by 26% year-on-year. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which manages 21 airports across the country, also saw a decline of 24% in revenue.

Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM), which provides navigation services to Vietnamese and foreign airlines, saw its revenue drop 60% in the January-March quarter.

The volume of passengers in 2020 would plunge 46% to 43 million passengers compared to 2019, worse than any forecast scenarios, said the ministry.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) estimated in the most optimistic scenario where the pandemic is contained in April, the number of air passengers would fall 15.4% year-on-year to 67 million. In a second scenario with the pandemic being controlled before June, total passengers of the market are predicted at 61.2 million, down 22.6% year-on-year.

With the unexpected losses, the ministry has proposed many solutions to support the aviation industry, including the resumption of the flight routes and the increase of frequency of domestic flights from April 23.

The ministry kept requesting the prime minister to provide financial and tax support policies for local transport businesses.