The Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam, the Vietnam Airlines Corporation and domestic carriers have backed a plan to launch international flights from Phu Cat Airport in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province.
Tourists at Phu Cat Airport in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province
The move was made after the provincial People’s Committee asked the Ministry of Transport to allow international flights to operate out of Phu Cat Airport to cope with the growing number of tourists.
Domestic carriers Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways have a plan to open international flights to serve tourists from Quy Nhon to Thailand, Japan, South Korea and China in 2019.
Ho Quoc Dung, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said tourism development was a priority for the local economy.
To promote tourism development, the province had implemented tourism promotion activities, he said.
In 2017, Binh Dinh welcomed 3.7 million tourists, up 15.6 per cent over 2016, and 3.4 million tourists in the first nine months of this year.
The Vietnam Airlines Corporation (ACV) has completed infrastructure at the airport including a parking lot and domestic terminal to meet the demands of domestic and international passengers.
ACV is also upgrading the airport’s old terminal to serve international tourists.
At the recent meeting with Binh Dinh Province, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The supported the plan to open international flights to and from Phu Cat Airport and to improve infrastructure to meet international standards.
In May, ACV officially moved its operations to Phu Cat Airport’s new terminal.
Vietnam Airlines is operating 35 flights per week to and from the city, including 14 flights between Ha Noi and Quy Nhon and 21 flights between HCM City and Quy Nhon.
Quy Nhon City is striving to welcome 4.67 million tourists by 2020.