Vietnam Morning Monitor: Int'l air traffic up 11.3%, illegal parking kills 62 in Ho Chi Minh City

| SOCIETY

-- Ho Chi Minh City recorded 106 traffic accidents linked to improper stopping and parking between January and October, leaving 62 people dead and 45 others injured, heard a press briefing on the city’s socio-economic performance on Thursday. According to statistics, the city has some 13.3 million vehicles, including more than 1.5 million cars, with the remainder comprising motorcycles and other types of transport. Despite substantial investment in the city’s road network and transport infrastructure in recent years, the rapid growth in private vehicles has outpaced infrastructure development, leaving existing facilities struggling to meet demand for traffic circulation, stopping and parking.

-- A delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases visited Ca Mau Province, located in the Mekong Delta region, on Thursday to help local authorities contain meningococcal disease after two cases were reported in Song Doc Commune, including one fatality. According to a representative of the provincial Center for Disease Control, D.K.N., 46, a resident of Tan Hoa Hamlet, has died, marking the second death from meningococcal disease recorded in the province this year.

| ECONOMY

-- At an in-depth dialogue session on Wednesday, international experts shared recommendations for helping Vietnam sustain growth and boost productivity, ranging from improving investment efficiency and developing capital markets to upgrading workforce skills. Speaking at the dialogue session, part of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026, held in Ho Chi Minh City, Fazurin Jamaludin, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in Vietnam and Laos, said raising productivity was essential for Vietnam to achieve its growth targets. Vietnam needs not only to increase investment but also to ensure resources are used efficiently to boost productivity, according to Jamaludin.

-- Vietnam’s airports handled 110.4 million passenger trips during the January-October period this year, up 10.2 percent year on year, according to a report by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam submitted to the Ministry of Construction. International passenger traffic reached 42.8 million, an increase of 11.3 percent from the same period last year, while domestic traffic improved by 9.5 percent. Both markets continued to expand, reflecting sustained growth in demand for air travel. Vietnamese airlines alone carried 50.2 million passengers during the period, up seven percent year on year. Domestic carriers Vietjet, Sun PhuQuoc Airways and Vietravel Airlines have recently taken delivery of additional aircraft as airlines expand their fleets. Vietnam had 261 aircraft as of October 15, up 26 from 2025.

| TRAVEL

-- International experts and diplomats explored Ho Chi Minh City’s architecture, culture, commerce and urban lifestyle during a walking tour on Thursday, as part of the activities surrounding the Autumn Economic Forum 2026. Irit Savion Waidergorn, Israel’s Ambassador to Vietnam, said the tour offered an enjoyable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Ho Chi Minh City. She also expressed her delight at trying Vietnamese pho, praising the local culinary experience.

| EDUCATION

-- Education New Zealand (ENZ) has announced its long-term investment strategy for Vietnam during the 2026-27 period, featuring exclusive scholarships and student support policies. Sahinde Pala, an ENZ representative, affirmed that Vietnam remains one of New Zealand’s top five priority growth markets. Vietnam is also one of only two countries worldwide to receive comprehensive investment support from New Zealand across all education levels and segments. The number of New Zealand Government scholarships exclusively available to Vietnamese students will continue to increase in 2027. The New Zealand Schools Scholarships, in particular, will rise to 59 awards, the highest number to date. Applications will open on January 12, 2027.

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