The Ministry of Transport has just issued a document responding to the petition of voters in Ho Chi Minh City regarding the high domestic airfares. Specifically, voters in Ho Chi Minh City pointed out the current high domestic airfares and requested the Ministry of Transport to review fees and charges; analyze and evaluate the reasonableness of prices and costs of organizing the apparatus of airlines and ground service organizations to conclude whether current airfares are appropriate.

Responding to this content, the Ministry of Transport said that according to Circular No. 17/2019/TT-BGTVT promulgating the price framework for domestic air transport services, airfares are made up of: Passenger transport service prices, value added tax, revenues from enterprises providing passenger terminal services and security services (including passenger service prices and passenger and baggage security prices) and service prices for additional items (decided by the airline).

According to a report by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, based on data from Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, the cost of a flight in 2023 mainly comes from: Fuel (37-42%), aircraft rental and repair (32-41%), ground services and flight operations... (6-7%). Other costs such as personnel, ticket sales, and management account for about 16-19%.

“Flight service-related costs (ground services, flight operations, etc.) account for a small proportion, about 6-7% of costs, and have almost no impact on increasing costs. In fact, most of the services specified in Circular No. 53/2019/TT-BGTVT have been maintained stably for a long time and there have been no price increases,” the Ministry of Transport stated.

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Voters petition to review airfares. Photo: Nam Khanh

According to the Ministry of Transport, from the beginning of 2024 to now, the average price of economy class tickets on some routes has increased compared to the same period in 2023. However, through checking ticket sales activities, the Ministry noted that airlines have complied with regulations on maximum prices for basic economy class on domestic routes. The increase in airfares of airlines is in line with the general trend in the world due to the impact of the main causes of market supply and demand factors (decline in the size of the operating aircraft fleet, increased travel demand during holidays, Tet...) and fluctuations due to increased fuel prices, increased exchange rates...

“To help reduce pressure on airfares, the Ministry continues to adjust aircraft operating hours, reduce turnaround times for connecting flights; optimize aircraft operating hours during the day, and increase night flights…

In addition, the Ministry continues to effectively implement and monitor the implementation of price declaration, price posting, and price information disclosure measures in accordance with legal regulations, as well as recommend that passengers buy tickets early to have more opportunities to choose from with suitable ticket prices," the Ministry of Transport informed.

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