The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has ordered Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Bamboo Airways to stop selling more tickets than the number of approved slots ahead of the Lunar New Year, or Tet, festival.

The order was issued on Monday after an inspection of these airlines’ ticket sales on their websites showed that the number of air tickets these carriers put up for sale had exceeded their allocations.

According to the order, if Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Bamboo Airways continue the excessive ticket sale, they will not be given flight permits and confirmation for an increase in slots for the next scheduled season.

The three air carriers, along with Pacific Airlines and VASCO, have planned to operate an average of more than 1,000 domestic flights per day for the peak travel season of the 2021 Lunar New Year, up 28 percent over the same period last year.

The busiest day will see up to 1,200 flights launched, up 25.3 percent against the same period last year.

Specifically, Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary VASCO will run an average of 379 flights a day, with the peak of 504 flights a day, an increase of 35.5 percent and 31 percent respectively compared to the 2020 Lunar New Year.

Vietjet Air will offer an average of 371 flights per day, with the peak of 375 flights per day, up 17 percent and 28 percent respectively compared to the previous Tet.

Bamboo Airways will operate an average of 180 flights per day, peaking at 190 flights per day, up 27.5 percent and 34 percent respectively compared to last year.

Similarly, Pacific Airlines will offer an average of 124 flights per day, peaking at 130 flights a day, up 25 percent and 28 percent respectively over the previous Tet. 

New player Vietravel Airlines will operate 16 flights per day.

In addition to the flights in the daytime, these Vietnamese airlines will increase the operational load at nighttime from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am the next day with an average of 140-150 flights per day.

The 2021 Lunar New Year will fall on February 12, with demand for traveling home to hike before and after the traditional festival.

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