The MAG Vietnam Vol 6 Feb 2017 | Page 5

Travel Adventures
Stu Ranger

TET is Travel Mania

Planes , trains and automobiles are all getting ready to transport 100 ’ s of thousands of people all over Vietnam to visit their home towns . Vietnamese airlines has just been approved for 1,270 additional domestic flights during Tet . The bus services are selling tickets like hot cakes . Vietnam ’ s aviation watchdog has approved several proposals from local airlines to increase flight frequency to meet spiking demands during the upcoming Tet holiday , though only half the requested additions were approved . Tet , the Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday , falls in late January , though city residents typically begin flying back to their hometowns weeks before holiday to begin festivities with friends and family .
Local airlines , national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airlines Vietjet and Jetstar , sought permission to collectively add 2,486 flights , with only 1,270 of the proposed flights actually gaining approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam ( CAAV ). Vietnam Airlines is permitted to add 380 flights , totaling 76,758 seats , during the Tet season , while Vietjet and Jetstar will add 560 flights ( 100,800 seats ) and 330 flights ( 59,400 seats ), respectively . Approximately 1,067 of the approved extra flights will depart or land in Tan Son Nhat International Airport , the country ’ s busiest
Tan Son Nhat airport
airdrome , already operating beyond its design capacity . Despite potential overload issues , during the Tet holidays the Ho Chi Minh City-based airport will serve 807 flights per day during peak time , a 7.7 percent increase from the usual schedule .
Vietnam Airlines is the only of the three carriers happy with the CAAV decision , with nearly 100 percent of their extra flight plan approved , meanwhile Vietjet will only be able to offer half of its proposed additional services while Jetstar was approved for 30 percent of its requests . Under the CAAV decision , the three carriers will collectively be
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