The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) outlined this proposal in an official letter sent to the Ministry of Construction. The proposed reductions are expected to apply until 30/6, pending approval. Under the proposal, all domestic flights would see a 15% reduction in air traffic control service fees and a 20% reduction in takeoff and landing fees at airports nationwide.
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Aircraft at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Photo: Quynh Tran
If implemented for three months, the proposal would result in decreased revenue for infrastructure operators. The Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) anticipates a reduction of approximately 30 billion VND, while the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) expects a decrease of 45.6 billion VND. Entities like SAC and VDO, operating under Sun Group, project a reduction of about 2.7 billion VND.
Despite these figures, the CAAV believes the financial impact on operators will not be significant. Citing ACV data for the 2023-2025 period, the authority noted that costs accounted for approximately 52% of revenue. The annual revenue-expenditure difference still contributes an average of 1,353 billion VND to the state budget.
Furthermore, these entities already benefit from a 50% reduction in airport operating concession fees. Therefore, this proposed service fee reduction is not expected to significantly affect the financial balance of state-managed infrastructure operations.
In parallel, the CAAV proposed that the Ministry of Construction report to the Government, seeking permission to apply a fuel surcharge on basic economy class domestic tickets for three months. This surcharge would be calculated based on actual fuel costs and would fall outside the current price ceiling framework.
According to the authority, tensions in the Middle East have caused Jet A-1 aviation fuel prices to fluctuate sharply, remaining high in Asia and creating significant pressure on airlines. Consequently, the surcharge mechanism is viewed as a temporary, flexible solution to cope with cost volatility.
Giang Anh
