Complete recovery for Vietnamese aviation in 2023: CAAV

Passenger transport is expected to rise 45% from last year to 80 million in 2023, according to the industry’s governing body. CAAV has also reported that growth in the cargo transport sector this year is expected to grow 15% to 1.44 million tons.

This would equate to a 1% growth in passenger transit and 14.8% in cargo compared to 2019, when the aviation sector had yet to be affected by the pandemic.

Some 34 million passengers from Vietnam are set to travel internationally in 2023, a tripling of last year’s numbers, according to analysts at CAAV.

The CAAV is already seeing high growth in the Vietnamese domestic market compared to 2019, while the international market is still recovering and could reach 2019 levels by the end of this year.

However, challenges remain, according to the authority’s experts in Vietnam. The country has few major airports, all of which face limited capacities. The fluctuation of fuel prices, staff shortages, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis will continue to negatively impact the industry in 2023.

Concerns about the return of Covid, and both global and local economic difficulties might hamper the growth of demand, especially among key tourist markets such as South Korea and Japan.

Passengers will mostly travel for business, family visits and study programs, according to CAAV.

Although China has resumed travel and economic activities with Vietnam, it will take longer than this year for the aviation segment to recover to pre-pandemic levels, some have said.

Global international passenger transport is set to reach 80% of 2019 levels this year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The Asia-Pacific region is set to recover slowest, the association added.