The aviation industry is welcoming the New Year of the Tiger 2022 with the restoration of most international and domestic routes, signaling an optimistic outlook for this year.

Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi is one of Vietnam's busiest airports. HNT Photo: Pham Hung

As travel has recovered, airlines have planned to increase the number of flights by more than 100   between February 6 and 12, mainly on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route and at night to avoid air traffic congestion in the daytime.

Nguyen Thien Tong, an aviation expert, said that the rapid increase in the number of air passengers during and after the Tet holiday is a very good sign for the industry. This showed that air travel has recovered after a long period of stagnation due to the pandemic.

“Aviation recovery often goes hand in hand with the recovery of the tourism industry and the overall recovery of the economy. These are very positive signs in the first days of the new year,” he told The Hanoi Times.

He added the ongoing recovery of the aviation industry is coming even sooner and at a higher level than experts predicted.

“At the beginning of the new year, many people often travel with their families that is the reason why the sales of airfare suddenly surged,” he said. “This peak would last only a few days and will soon return to normal, but this is still a good sign for the aviation industry. The downturn has been stopped and now is the time for the aviation industry to recover.”

In the latest move, the Ministry of Transport required the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to continue discussing with foreign aviation authorities on reopening regular international flights to countries, which have already resumed direct routes to Vietnam at the level of before the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to markets that restored air connections with Vietnam in January.

According to the CAAV, this is the right time to gradually increase the frequency of international flights as the country's aviation industry is ready in all aspects to exploit the entire international flight network.

Meanwhile, many countries around the world have been introducing competitive policies to attract international tourists and spur travel demand as Covid-19 gradually comes under control. If Vietnam is slow to reopen its borders, it will lose its competitive edge as a destination for tourists and investors.

The CAAV has worked with the Thai aviation authorities and agreed to reopen air routes and put no limit on the number of flights. Up to now, except for China, all countries that Vietnam proposed to restore air connections have agreed with the plan, and outbound flights from Vietnam to new markets such as the Middle East, Turkey will be open in the coming time.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said it is stepping up marketing and removing unnecessary conditions for tourists entering Vietnam.

Economist Ngo Tri Long told The Hanoi Times he is certain about the recovery of the aviation industry in 2022. This has been shown right from the first days of the new year with many domestic flights and international routes being restored.

“The year 2022 will be the time when the Covid-19 pandemic will be pushed back. Economic activities of many countries around the world would become vibrant again. In Vietnam, tourism and aviation are also showing very good signs of regaining strength. We expect 2022 to be a year of strong economic recovery,” Long said.

However, Long also noted that the recovery momentum of the aviation industry and the economy still depends greatly on the Covid-19 prevention and control that the country is rolling out. In addition to promoting business and production activities to recover the economy, the country needs also to pay close attention to pandemic prevention, he said.