Passengers at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City.
According to the latest report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), booking rates for many flights operating during the Tet holiday (January 21-28) have so far been between 90 and 100 percent.
"Flights operating between January 21-26 on some routes connecting HCM City and Hue, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Vinh, have sold out," the report said. "Meanwhile, return flights on these days have very low booking rates of only 5-30 percent."
However, those return flights are fully booked from January 30 to February 2, when the holiday ends.
Tet flight booking rates for routes connecting the southern metropolis to Hanoi and Danang are currently low, staying at 35-40 percent.
HCM City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport is projected to serve over four million passengers during the holiday.
According to CAAV, Tan Son Nhat will ramp up its flights to 48 per hour in day time and 46 per hour at night between January 21 and February 9, a notable rise from the usual 38–40 flights. Additionally, five major airports in central Vietnam will operate around the clock during the holiday.
Airlines have been directed to adopt self-service check-in kiosks to ease congestion at traditional counters. They are also required to facilitate night flights to maximise passenger handling capacity.