This move aims to meet the maximum travel demand of people during the Lunar New Year holiday of the Year of the Horse.
According to Uong Viet Dung, Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, the demand for travel during the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse 2026 is still high.
The Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority has directed its units to monitor the booking situation, basic economy class airfare prices, and booking data on domestic routes to assess demand and request airlines to add flights on routes with high booking rates.
At the same time, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority has facilitated the addition of aircraft by airlines during the peak Lunar New Year period.
Currently, airlines have added 19 aircraft, an increase of 4 compared to the same period last year, bringing the total number of aircraft expected to operate to approximately 216-218.
The increase in the number of takeoffs and landings at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports to 46-48 flights per hour aims to facilitate airlines in planning their operations, increasing capacity, and enhancing night flights, helping passengers access a wider range of affordable fares. In addition, Tho Xuan, Dong Hoi, Chu Lai, Phu Cat, Pleiku, and Tuy Hoa airports are ready to implement 24/7 operation plans.
Regarding bookings, as of now, during the peak period before Tet (Lunar New Year), some routes such as Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, Chu Lai, and Dong Hoi have booking rates exceeding 90 percent, even reaching 100 percent. In the opposite direction, demand was low, with many flights having to operate empty on their return to Ho Chi Minh City.
Flights from Hanoi to central and southern provinces had low booking rates, around 30 percent - 60 percent, before Tet. However, the Hanoi - Dong Hoi and Hanoi - Dien Bien routes achieved booking rates of 88 percent - 100 percent during peak days from February 12 to 15.
After Tet, booking rates on flights from these provinces back to Ho Chi Minh City increased significantly, commonly reaching 80-100 percent ; many routes such as Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, Chu Lai, Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hue, and Hai Phong were almost fully booked.
For the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route, from February 11 to 14, the booking rate for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi leg reached approximately 83 percent-90 percent. In addition, from February 21 to 23, the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City leg reached 80 percent - 94 percent. Currently, many domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities are becoming increasingly scarce.
On February 12 and 14, economy class tickets for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Da Nang, Buon Ma Thuot, Binh Dinh, Pleiku, and Chu Lai were all sold out. Tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi route are still available, priced from VND2.9 million (US$111) to over VND4 million per one-way trip.
Airfares on key domestic routes have surged ahead of Tet. On the Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang route, one-way tickets are priced between VND800,000 and more than VND2.7 million. Fares from Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong range from VND2.3 million to VND3.4 million, while trips from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot average around VND1.2 million. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Dinh are currently offered at about VND1.5 million per leg.
