Flights from HCM City to central and northern localities have been seeing high demand. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Flights from HCM City to central and northern airports are almost fully booked for the week before for the Lunar New Year on February 17.

Return flights after the six-day holidays are similarly full.

For the period from February 10 to 15, booking on flights to Huế, Thanh Hóa, Vinh, Pleiku, Tuy Hòa, Quy Nhơn, Chu Lai, and Đồng Hới generally exceeds 90 per cent, reaching 100 per cent on peak days.

Flights to HCM City during this period have booking rates below 35 per cent, and many aircraft are even expected to fly empty to pick up outbound passengers from the city.

But flights from Hà Nội to central and southern localities during the pre-Tết period seem set to fly at 30-60 per cent capacity.

The exceptions are flights to Đồng Hới and Điện Biên routes, which are 88-100 per cent full between February 12 and 15.

From February 21 to 25, after the holidays end, the booking rates on flights to HCM City from Pleiku, Tuy Hòa, Quy Nhơn, Chu Lai, Vinh, Thanh Hóa, Huế, Hải Phòng and some other places are 80-100 per cent. 

Flights from HCM City and Hà Nội are 83-90 per cent booked between February 11 and 14.

In the reverse direction, the rate is 80-94 per cent between February 21 and 23. 

It is among the busiest sectors globally throughout the year.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, airlines are planning to add more flights to meet the surging demand during the holiday season. — VNS