Giovanni Bisignani, General Director and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said on September 30 during his working visit to Vietnam that Vietnam is one of the ten fastest-growing air transport markets in the world, while the world’s aviation industry has been witnessing sharp falls recently.

 
Vietnam is one of the ten fastest-growing air transport markets in the world
 
IATA reported sharp falls in air traffic results for August. The growth rate of international passenger demand dropped 1.3% in the month, following the discouraging slide of 1.9% in July. The transport capacity increase has far exceeded the demand increase.

Meanwhile, international freight traffic saw a third consecutive fall, of 2.7% in August, following the previous decreases of 1.9% in July and 0.8% in June.

Mr Bisignani said that though the fuel price has decreased, thus easing pressure on flight expenses, spending on fuel is 30% higher than one year ago. He added that the world’s aviation industry may incur the loss of $5.2bil this year.

IATA represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic. Vietnam became a member of IATA in 2006 and it received IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate in 2006.

However, when mentioning the development potential of Vietnam’s aviation, he said that Vietnam remains among the top 10 markets with the highest growth rates in the world, and that Vietnam remains an important market in the dynamic Asia Pacific region, which will have the biggest share in the world by 2010.

Mr Bisignani highly praised the decisions by the government of Vietnam recently to make the aviation industry an important part of Vietnam’s economic development. That explains why Vietnam’s aviation industry, which is facing the common difficulties of the global aviation industry, still can obtain high growth.

He also said that Vietnam has taken suitable steps to open the market and create new opportunities. The government cutting the import tax on aircraft fuel by 15% was an important and suitable move.

He mentioned the big challenges ahead. When Vietnam expands its operations and moves ahead, it needs to follow international standards to develop its aviation industry.

He affirmed that Vietnam has been successfully shifting to using e-tickets and meeting the deadline of June 1 stipulated by IATA. Its readiness for e-freight will be the next important move.

Mr Bisignani said that the purpose of his working visit to Vietnam is to open an IATA office in Vietnam to strengthen the cooperation between IATA and Vietnam.

Source : DDDN