Malaysian Air Asia's Application for Routes to HCM City Denied
The Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration (VCAA) has said no to Malaysian Air Asia’s application for routes to Ho Chi Minh City stating that the Tan Son Nhat International Airport is operating at its full capacity.
The administration has instead encouraged the carrier focus on northern Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport and others in central Vietnam as attractive alternatives and promised licenses would be issued soon.
AirAsia was also asked to consider Danang and Phu Bai international airports as viable options.
Licensing formalities are normally completed within 30 days if the carrier’s documentation is valid and the market is available.
However the carrier has yet to take up the offer because the southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City, where most Malaysian enterprises are based, is a target destination in its ambitious plan to become an Asia-wide airline.
The Malaysia-based AirAsia was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001, offering over 100 domestic and international flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
More than 20 domestic and international airlines now operate in Vietnam, including budget carriers Tiger Airways and Thai Air Asia, who are now pursuing expansion plans with new routes and increased frequencies.
Under the proposed ‘open skies’ agreement among ASEAN nations slated for 2008, the Vietnamese aviation market door will swing wide open for international carriers, resulting in increased competition.
Thanh Nien Online
Vietnamese
