HANOI : Airports in Vietnam served up to 45.5 million passengers in the first five months of this year, an increase of 37.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV).

Of the figure, there were 12 million foreigners and 33.4 million local passengers, marking a year-on-year rise of 679.6 and 33.4 per cent, respectively.

In May alone, airports across the country served 9 million passengers, up 3.2 per cent from the previous month.

Between January and May, Vietnamese airlines carried 22.4 million people, a year-on-year increase of 36.9 per cent. Of the total, there were 16.7 million domestic passengers, up 5.7 per cent from 2022.

The volume of foreign passengers reached 5.7 million, an increase of 5,525.1 per cent higher than from the corresponding period last year.

The sudden rise in the number of passengers after more than two years of travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an improvement in the business results of domestic airlines.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines saw revenue doubling year-on-year to VNĐ23.5 trillion (about US$1 billion) in the first quarter of this year. It still reported an after-tax loss of VNĐ37.3 billion in the period, but it is a significant improvement compared to a loss of nearly VNĐ2.69 trillion in the same period last year.

The airline has restored its entire domestic flight network and resumed 90 per cent of the international routes compared to the pre-Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, during the first three months of 2023, air carrier Vietjet posted revenue of VNĐ12.88 trillion and after-tax profit of VNĐ168 billion, increasing by 286 and 320 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

Ancillary revenue, in particular, was reported at VNĐ4.31 trillion, accounting for more than 33 per cent of the total revenue. The company’s consolidated revenue and after-tax profit were almost VNĐ12.9 trillion and VNĐ173 billion, respectively.

 - ANN