Bamboo Airways comes closer to first commercial flight

Bamboo Airways comes closer to first commercial flight

Bamboo Airways meets prerequisites

According to a source of VIR, last weekend the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) presented to the government the results of its evaluation of the Bamboo Airways investment project at Phu Cat Airport in the central province of Binh Dinh province.

Based on Article 31(1b) of the Law on Investment, the Bamboo Airways project is an air transport project under the jurisdiction of the PM. Hence, MPI has proposed the prime minister to approve the investment planning of the project and then assign the Dinh People’s Committee to supervise the implementation process and ensure it follows the planning.

MPI found that the project has collected the necessary legal documents. The project is also in line with Binh Dinh’s 2020 Master Plan for Socioeconomic Development, as well as the prime ministerial 2020-2030 planning for air transport development.

Besides, the investor has the requisite equity and the parent company’s (FLC Group) commitment to provide additional working capital regularly for business activities in the project’s early stages.

However, MPI proposed the PM to assign the Binh Dinh People’s Committee to monitor and ensure that the project’s development abides by the law and the relevant plans.

Previously, in mid-April 2018, the Binh Dinh People’s Committee proposed MPI to reevaluate the project after it made adjustments following the advice of the ministries of Transport, Public Security, Defense, and Construction.

Specifically, Bamboo Airways has the charter capital of VND700 billion ($30.8 million) and will operate for 50 years. The first flight will take off in the first quarter of 2019.

In its first year of commercial flights, Bamboo Airways will have a fleet of three A320 aircraft, which will increase to 10 by 2023. The project’s site of operation is Phu Cat International Airport (Phu Cat, Binh Dinh).

Requirements

Once Bamboo Airways receives the PM’s approval, it will have to complete other legal requirements in order to make its first commercial flight.

According to Article 5(3) of Decree No.92/2016/ND-CP on businesses in the air transport sector, stipulates that one of the requirements for air transport businesses is to acquire a licence of operation from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) after it has been approved by the PM.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), the most crucial requirements for an investor to acquire a licence include being in line with the planning for aviation transport development, ensuring the availability of commercial aircrafts, and organising the system.

To be more specific, the project’s application for a licence must have an official verification of investment capital, a chart of the company’s internal system, a contract for selling or renting aircrafts, the company’s operating and transportation guidelines, and a strategy for product development.

Dang Tat Thang, general manager of Bamboo Airways, states that many of the requirements for a business license match the contents of the project proposal on planning suitability, investor capacity, and capital scale.

“In the event that the project proposal is approved by the PM, MoT will quicken the process of granting Bamboo Airways a business licence,” said CAAV.