Trial results on the newly proposed Hanoi-HCM City air route through
Laos and Cambodia show that the route is 85km shorter, saving five
minutes of flying time and 190kg of fuel, the Civil Aviation Authority
of Vietnam (CAAV) reported on September 4.
On
September 3-4, flight simulator (SIM) tests were run by the CAAV in
cooperation with Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air on a potential flight
route from Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi
Minh City via Laos and Cambodia.
According to the
CAAV, the total length of the route was 1,191km, with a flying time of
103 minutes and fuel consumption of 4,140kg.
This
move is part of ongoing efforts to launch the route as soon as possible,
following Transport Minister Dinh La Thang’s instructions, expecting it
to shorten flights between Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports, and thus
save fuel.
In March 2009, the CAAV received a
proposal for the Hanoi-HCM City “golden air route” from former
pilot Mai Trong Tuan.
The proposed
air route would mean flights between the capital and the southern
economic hub traverse Lao and Cambodian airspace, rather than the ocean,
no longer following Vietnam’s “S” shaped coastline.-VNA