Can Tho airport lacks flights

CAN THO, 24 March 2014: Officials from the Southwestern Steering Committee, Ministry of Transport and Can Tho City’s People’s Committee are recommending that more air routes be developed from the Mekong Delta to major gateway cities in Vietnam to open up travel in the delta.
Southwestern Steering Committee head, Nguyen Phong Quang said: “The airport had not been working at full capacity since its opening in 2010. The number of flights and passengers are far below its design capacity.”
Last year, the airport received 238,000 passengers, much lower than the planned 3 million annually.
Can Tho City’s People’s Committee deputy head, Dao Anh Dung, said more effort was needed to attract airlines.
“New routes will encourage more investors …we need to link Can Tho with Danang, Cam Ranh, Lien Khuong, Bangkok, Siem Riep, Phnom Penh, Taiwan and South Korea, which will reduce travel time and costs dramatically via Ho Chi Minh City.”
Currently, the airport has flights from Hanoi, Phu Quoc, Con Dao and Taipei.
Can Tho International Airport is located in Can Tho in Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The airport was opened 1 January 2011. It was built at a cost of US$150 million and can handle up to 5 million passengers a year.
Can Tho is the fourth largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. Last year, the region attracted nearly 24 million tourist arrivals of which 2 million were foreigner. Tourism generated over US$220 million in revenue in 2013 up 11% from 2012.

Sourced: ttrweekly