Hanoi (VNA) – The increasingly bustling international aviation markets with many airlines opening new routes to large-scale markets will be a major driving force for the growth of the entire aviation market in the coming time, according to the Civil Aviation Agency of Vietnam (CAAV).

The agency said that in the first half of this year, 63 airlines, including four from Vietnam - Vietravel Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, and Vietjet Air – operated nearly 160 routes connecting Vietnam and other countries.

The international flight network has restored to pre-COVID-19 levels and continued to expand to new markets in Central Asia, India, and Australia.

The CAAV noted that in festive occasions and summer period, international flights to famous tourist attractions like Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, and Da Lat have risen strongly.

Particularly, the Phu Quoc International Airport has seen seven international airlines operating eight routes, while the Da Nang International Airport is hosting 24 airlines flying 17 international routes.

Besides, the Cam Ranh International Airport in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa has seen 16 international airlines with 13 routes, and the Lien Khuong International Airport in Da Lat is receiving foreign airlines.

In the first six months of 2024, the international markets with the largest number of passengers transported to Vietnam were the Republic of Korea, China, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Japan, and Singapore.

The CAAV predicted that this year, international passenger transported from/to Vietnam is likely to reach 43.5 million, up 33.4% compared to 2023 and 4.3% compared to 2019.

In the first half of 2024, domestic carriers transported 9 million international passengers, an increase of 28% over the same period last year, accounting for 44% of the international passenger transport market share, of which Vietjet enjoyed the highest share, followed by Vietnam Airlines and Vietravel Airlines.

Thanks to the growth of the international aviation market, the tourism sector enjoyed a surge of 51% to 10 million in the number of foreign visitors in the first seven months, which is expected to reach 18 million in the whole year.

Recently, airlines launched new air routes to make full use of the recovery of the international aviation market. On August 2, Vietravel Airlines successfully operated the first flight connecting Taipei in Taiwan (China) and Phu Quoc (Vietnam), starting its efforts to expand the international flight network to major tourist markets of Vietnam in 2024. The airline has been licenced for commercial flights but will cooperate with partners to operate charter flights in August and September.

Nguyen Minh Hai, General Director of Vietravel Airlines, said that the first Taipei-Phu Quoc flight marked an important milestone in the airline’s development, contributing to connecting two of the most attractive tourist destinations in Asia and opening up new cooperation opportunities between the airline and potential partners to expand the market.

He said he believes that the Taipei-Phu Quoc route will contribute to increasing the number of visitors to Phu Quoc, promoting the tourism potential of the island district in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

Vietravel Airlines plans to launch flights connecting Da Nang and Taichung in Taiwan (China) and Hue - Taichung in September.

Earlier, in late June, Vietnam Airlines opened a direc𓄧t flight between Hanoi and Chengdu in China, while Vietjet launched two routes connecting Phu Quoc island with the two cities of Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan (China) in mid-June./.