Vietnam's aviation sector handles over 110 million passengers in Jan-Oct

Of the total, international passengers reached 42.8 million, up 11.3 percent, while domestic passengers numbered 67.6 million, a 9.5-percent increase. 

Both markets maintained their growth momentum, reflecting continued improvement in demand for air travel, according to a report submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to the Ministry of Construction.

Air cargo transport also recorded positive growth, with 1.6 million metric tons handled at airports, up 9.6 percent.

Growth was driven mainly by the international market, which handled 1.2 million metric tons, up 15.4 percent, while domestic air cargo volume fell 7 percent.

Vietnamese airlines alone carried 50.1 million passengers, up 7 percent.

Of the total, domestic passengers accounted for 33.8 million, up 9.5 percent, while international passengers reached 16.3 million, up 2 percent.

Notably, the growth in international passenger numbers carried by Vietnamese airlines was considerably lower than the overall increase at airports nationwide.

Commenting on the situation, an airline said the international market still offered room for Vietnamese carriers to expand their operations, but also posed challenges in terms of competition.

With air travel demand rising, particularly as airlines seek to expand their international markets, carriers have been steadily increasing their fleets.

Vietjet, Sun PhuQuoc Airways and Vietravel Airlines have all taken delivery of additional aircraft recently.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam figures, Vietnam had 261 aircraft in its aviation fleet as of October 15, up 26 from 2025.

Vietjet operated 107 aircraft, mainly Airbus A321s, while Vietnam Airlines had 94 aircraft, including Airbus A320s, A321s and A350s, as well as Boeing 787s.

Adding aircraft gives airlines greater capacity to serve passengers, particularly as the market enters its year-end peak travel season.

However, expanding fleets also requires carriers to carefully assess operational efficiency and allocate their transport capacity appropriately.

Uong Viet Dung, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, has urged airlines to review their domestic flight networks, consider restoring previously suspended routes and increase frequencies on routes with strong demand.

The authority said flight network development should be aligned with travel, trade and tourism demand, as well as actual operating conditions, helping improve connectivity between localities and make more efficient use of aviation infrastructure.