Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang held a meeting on July 13 with the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Mr. Raymond Benjamin.

Minister Thang proudly said that in the last five years, despite the economic downturn, Vietnam’s aviation sector still maintained an average growth rate of 14 per cent in passenger numbers and 16 to 17 per cent in cargo transported. In 2014 it catered to 33.15 million passengers and carried 741,000 tons of cargo.

“There are 53 foreign airlines from 25 countries flying to and from Vietnam and three domestic airlines flying on 56 international routes to 17 countries,” Minister Thang went on. “Vietnam also has some effective low-cost carriers.”

There are now 21 airports in the country, of which seven are international airports. “The National Assembly has recently approved the construction of Long Thanh International Airport, which will have a total capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo per year,” he told Mr. Benjamin.

In regard to the implementation of ICAO’s policies and recommendations, the Minister confirmed that Vietnam has introduced several measures to improve the liberalization of its aviation market.

It has signed and implemented more than 70 bilateral and multilateral treaties in air transportation, which created a legal basis for domestic airlines as well as foreign carriers.

Together, the government and the Ministry of Transport have adopted many policies to encourage the appearance of foreign airlines, such as supportive procedures and reductions in service fees at airports.

Minister Thang also expressed his desire to receive support from ICAO to improve safety in Vietnam’s aviation market.

He hoped that ICAO would train supervisors and provide technical cooperation for the implementation of information systems, new systems in Communications, Navigation, Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS / ATM), and the upgrading of plans for Vietnam’s aviation system.

Mr. Benjamin expressed his pleasure at seeing the considerable development of Vietnam’s aviation sector.

The ICAO has noted the efforts made by domestic airlines to improve service quality and actively invest in and upgrade their fleets with aircraft such as Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s.

He also acknowledged the role and contribution of Vietnam as an active member of ICAO and committed to providing further support.