Airplane, train tickets almost sold out, bus seats available as Tet nears

Noi Bai international airport strengthens security during the Tet holiday (source: hanoimoi.vn)

Hanoi – Just 10 days left to the Lunar New Year (Tet) – the biggest and longest festival in a year of Vietnamese people, almost all airplane and train tickets on key routes for this occasion have been sold out, while there is not a lack of means of road transport.

This year, the Tet holiday lasts seven days from February 8 – 14 (from the 29th day of the last lunar month of the Year of the Cat to the fifth day of the first lunar month of the Year of the Dragon).

To meet increasing travel demand, airlines have proactively added aircraft, increased transport capacity on many routes, and organised more flights in the early morning and at night.

In particular, Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO, provides a total of 2.64 million seats during the Tet peak on both domestic and international flights.

Vietravel Airlines has planned to supply more than 100,000 seats on its domestic and international flight networks, while Vietjet Air has just brought four new aircraft to serve passengers, and Bamboo Airways added two aircraft.

Notably, tickets of high-demand routes have been almost fully booked or sold out. For example, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa/Vinh/Hai Phong/ Hue/Quy Nhon routes have booking rates of 98-100 per cent.

Meanwhile, the railway sector initially planned to provide more than 200,000 seats, with 390 trains. However, in response to rising demand, it has continuously added plans to increase trains. Most recently, the Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company opened ticket sales for 14 additional trains on routes to northern localities, while the Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has also organised six more trains from HCM City to Hanoi, Vinh and Phan Thiet, and more carriages, with more than 7,000 seats.

Director of the Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company Pham Manh Hung said that the number of passengers passing through the stations during the peak period will increase by about 300-350 per cent compared to normal days. With the current situation, the number of vehicles at the stations still basically meets the travel needs.

Some bus companies have announced ticket price increases of at least 17 per cent, depending on the routes, during the Tet holiday.

Deputy PM pays pre-Tet visit to Dien Bien province A working delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on January 28 paid a visit to the northwestern mountainous province of Dien Bien on the threshold of the Lunar New Year (Tet), the most important and longest festival of Vietnamese people in a year.