THE HANOI TIMES — Vietnam's airports saw a throughput of nearly 2.09 million passengers during the April 30-May 1 holiday period, up 25% year-on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

From April 29 to May 4, over 12,600 flights took off throughout the country, up 19.4% compared to the same period last year. On average, more than 2,000 flights and 340,000 passengers passed through the airports  country's airports each day.

The surge coincided with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975-2025).

Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City saw the most traffic, with 4,300 flights and 709,000 passengers, up 14.3% and 19.5% respectively. The busiest day was April 29 with 734 flights and 128,000 passengers, while the lightest day was May 2 with 700 flights and over 111,000 passengers.

Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Danang International Airport also recorded significant increases in air traffic. Noi Bai handled 3,400 flights and over 578,000 passengers, up 24.6% and 29.7% respectively, while Danang Airport throughput was 271,000 travelers, representing a 26.7% year-on-year increase.

Digital tools helped ease passenger boarding procedures during the holiday, as Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports used VNeID-based biometric identification for domestic flights, allowing Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air passengers to check in faster and reduce congestion at security checkpoints.

Vietnamese airlines reported strong growth. Between April 29 and May 4, they carried over 986,000 passengers, up nearly 30% from the same period last year.

It carried over 6,000 tones of cargo, an increase of 4%, or 2,900 tons of cargo and 330,000 passengers on international routes and 3,200 tons of cargo and 656,000 passengers on domestic routes.

CAAV Director Uong Viet Dung said that air traffic services during the April 30-May 1 holiday were stable and seamless.

He praised the coordination among relevant agencies in managing the increased traffic and promptly addressing operational challenges without compromising safety or security.

"This strong performance lays a solid foundation to better handle the upcoming summer travel surge," Dung added, "and supports the aviation sector's efforts to achieve its full-year growth targets."