Deputy PM Trần Lưu Quang speaks at an online meeting on Wednesday to review the sector's operation in 2022 and launch tasks for 2023. Photo baochinhphu.vn

HCM CITY — Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang has called for agencies and localities to tighten inspections to ensure aviation security, preventing and combating terrorism and illegal intervention in civil aviation activities.

Speaking at an online meeting on Wednesday, Quang, who is chairman of the National Civil Aviation Safety and Security Committee, said aviation activities would encounter challenges this year.

As the world faces escalating uncertainties with higher risk of terrorism threatening aviation security, it was vital to conduct inter-sectoral inspections to guarantee aviation security and terrorism prevention, he said.

Also, extreme weather conditions due to the impact of climate change had affected aviation security and safety, he said.

In addition, most airports across the country had been overloaded with the number of passengers and cargo exceeding their designed capacity while airport infrastructure had deteriorated, he added.

Quang said the Government would soon issue a Directive on improving the capacity of airports across the country.

He had asked agencies and localities to focus on human resources training for aviation security activities, while building plans to combat drones and ultralight aircraft that illegally interfere in civil aviation.

He said it was important to continue reviewing and completing regulations, including completing the draft decree to replace the old decree on the management of drones and ultralight aircraft.

Lê Anh Tuấn, deputy minister of Transport who is vice chairman of the National Civil Aviation Safety and Security Committee, said aviation activities grew last year due to high travel demand post-pandemic.

The Vietnamese air transport market reached 55 million passengers in 2022, up 3.6 times over 2021 and 69.6 per cent compared to 2019. 

Of the figure, domestic transportation reached 43.2 million passengers, an increase of 1.8 times compared to 2021 and an increase of 15.6 per cent compared to 2019. 

International transportation reached 12.1 million passengers, up 22 times compared to 2021 and equal to 29 per cent of 2019.

According to a report by the Ministry of Transport, there were 680 civil aviation security violations last year, up 445 cases compared to 2021.

The number of cases of international passengers being refused entry increased sharply in 2022 (340 cases in 2022 compared to two cases in 2021). — VNS