Can Tho airport once again being empty due to unclear motive

DNHN - Since May 4, 2023, Can Tho international airport and airlines have suspended service to and from Thanh Hoa and vice versa. The motive is unclear.

Since May 4, 2023, Can Tho international airport and airlines have suspended service to and from Thanh Hoa and vice versa. The motive is unclear.

Thus, the already infamous Can Tho airport, which is renowned for its customers, is now even worse. In the meantime, those in need were forced to travel to Saigon to fly due to overcrowding and frustration. At the international airport in Tan Son Nhat, which was already a little crowded, an invisible force exerted pent-up pressure. And passengers must endure increased difficulty, waste of time, money, and unutterable frustration.

Is it possible that Can Tho International Airport only offers domestic flights?

Can Tho International Airport was officially inaugurated on December 18, 2010, with the hopes of fostering tourism growth, facilitating international trade, and facilitating quick, easy, and convenient travel for customers? This is also a significant feature of the region that is considered the capital of the Southwest.

In the past ten years, however, this airport has served only domestic flights, such as Can Tho–Hanoi and Can Tho–Da Nang. Consequently, many hopes and dreams remain unfulfilled. Except for the flight route to Phu Quoc, which attracts a relatively large number of tourists, the routes to Can Tho, Rach Gia, and Ca Mau are ineffective in the Mekong Delta region.

Vietnam Airlines operates charter flights to and from Taipei and Kaohsiung before and after the Lunar New Year, but only during Tet.

As for the Can Tho - Thanh Hoa route, the number of weekly flights increased from 1 to 2, occurring on 3-5-7 days. Since the start of May, however, this route has been discontinued. And it is still unknown when it will reopen.

Objectively speaking, the Can Tho - Thanh Hoa route or vice versa is not necessarily empty, but still regularly populated. Stopping the operation of this route would have devastating consequences for the people and economy of the West. It also demonstrates the deterioration of Can Tho Airport over its years of operation.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa, a businessman from An Giang who frequently flies out of Can Tho airport, remarked, "The majority of passengers at this airport are government agency officials on business trips or individual businessmen. Can Tho's routes have not been fully exploited, and the airport's poor service has pushed it back, isolating its future potential.

Mr. Khoa suggested that rather than "completely closing" the Can Tho - Thanh Hoa route, they should maintain it by reducing flight frequency. So as not to force people to return to Tan Son Nhat, but also to keep passengers connected to Can Tho airport.

In the meantime, no international airlines have yet established international routes in Can Tho. Many airlines believe that the route to Can Tho is unattractive, as the number of passengers is quite low and the cost of opening new routes is prohibitive.

In the past, this airport offered a flight from Can Tho to Saigon, but it was discontinued because passengers had to wait a long time to check in and because the airport was located far from the center of both cities, making it inconvenient and costly to move.

Increasing new routes is not yet possible, and closing down old routes is "closed" too quickly. All evidence indicates that the operation of Can Tho International Airport appears to have been lost along the path of modern traffic growth.

Struggling "Proposal to reduce the ceiling of domestic airfares to Can Tho"

The chairman of Vietnam Airlines' board of directors recommended that the Ministry of Transport promote the role of macro regulation in aviation by regulating supply load to prevent airport congestion. Concurrently, there will soon be a policy to regulate the price ceiling.

In a new report sent to the Ministry of Transport, the CAAV mentioned expanding the ability to connect trade between Can Tho in particular, the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc in general, and localities across the country, as well as expanding the connection of the international air route network to make Can Tho an important air transport hub, thereby promoting the economic, political, and social development of the entire region. This agency suggests to the Ministry of Transport that the Circular regarding prices for specialized aviation services is revised.

The proposal is still in the consultation phase, and there is no assurance that the Ministry of Transport will have an opening mechanism for Can Tho Airport if the economic climate worsens and exports fall.

Thousands of billions of dong will be invested in the construction and refurbishment of the Can Tho airport to international standards. But only "cheekily" serving domestic flights "for fun", then struggling to calculate the problem of compensating losses from the state budget, there is still no scientific basis for this "initiative" that is optimistic.

What a thoughtful gesture!

Phuoc Lap