Illustrative image. Photo: VNA  

On October 10, Vietjet Air launched three routes linking Hanoi and Almaty (Kazakhstan), Hanoi and Prague (the Czech Republic), and Almaty and Prague, strengthening connections between Asia and Europe.

Earlier this year, it added routes from Hanoi to Shizuoka (Japan), Da Nang to Jakarta (Indonesia), and Ho Chi Minh City to Colombo (Sri Lanka).

Vietnam Airlines is scheduled to launch a direct Hanoi–Ahmedabad) route on November 3, operating four round-trip flights weekly. Ahmedabad will become its fifth destination in India, bringing the airline’s total frequency in the market to 25 round-trip flights per week.

Since the start of 2026, the national flag carrier has also added routes to Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Colombo and Phuket (Thailand) while increasing frequencies on several services to Europe and Asia such as Munich (Germany), Moscow (Russia), Osaka and Tokyo (Japan), and Seoul (the Republic of Korea).

Meanwhile, Vietjet, Sun PhuQuoc Airways and Vietravel Airlines plan to expand their fleets through aircraft leasing and purchases.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam forecasts that the country’s aviation market will handle 94 million passengers and more than 1.6 million tonnes of cargo in 2026, up 13% and 9.3%, respectively, from 2025.

In the first nine months, the market carried an estimated 70.5 million passengers, up 12.6% year-on-year, while cargo volume rose 13% to 1.3 million tonnes.

Data from the National Statistics Office show that Vietnam welcomed more than 17.7 million international visitors during the period, up 14.5%, with air travel accounting for 83.2% of arrivals.

The aviation authority said it is assisting domestic and foreign carriers with licensing, flight permits and airport slot coordination, stepping up legal framework refinement, while strengthening international cooperation with partners including ASEAN, the UK, India, Canada, Russia and Türkiye to support further market expansion./.