New Mekong Air Link From Vietnam

Vietnam aviation authorities plan to launch flights between Vinh City in Nghe An province and the Lao Vientiane by the end of this year.

It will be the first international scheduled air service out of Vinh.

Nghe An province and the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam examined the possibility of opening a new air route between Vinh and Vientiane capital at meetings last week.

inside no 2According to tourism data, around 160,000 to180,000 people travel by road annually between Vietnam’s north central region and the Lao capital, passing through Nam Can (Nghe An), Cau Treo (Ha Tinh), and Na Meo (Thanh Hoa) border checkpoints.

Authorities believe there is potential for direct Vinh-Vientiane route to encourage both trade and tourism between the two cities.

Following a test flight from Vinh Airport, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and the Nghe An Provincial People’s Committee agreed to go ahead and request traffic rights for the new service. It will require discussions with their counterparts in Laos, but relations are good between the two countries and as aviation opens in ASEAN ahead of the AEC free-trade era, airlines will find it easier to open new routes.

Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, all members of the Greater Mekong sub-region, have in place their own aviation pact that eases rules and gives national airlines of the four countries the freedom to fly to most cities.

The first flight could start as early as 1 December 2013.

Vinh Airport is a mixed military/civil airport. It is one of two large-scale military bases in Vietnam next to Gia Lam Airbase in Hanoi. In 2010, the airport handled 276,612 commercial passengers and around 530,000 passengers in 2011.

A new terminal, designed to handle up to 2.5 million passengers a year and costing around US$35 million is under construction.

There are three airlines flying to Vinh: Air Mekong (from Buon Ma Thuot, Ho Chi Minh City, Pleiku); Jetstar Pacific Airlines (from Buon Ma Thuot); and Vietnam Airlines (from Danang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City).

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