While most scientists supported the idea of a new air route between Hanoi and HCM City, relevant authorities denied its feasibility at a workshop in the capital on December 6.

Early this year, former pilot Mai Trong Tuan submitted his idea for a new flight route that would take the 106 degree meridian, under which the distance between the two cities would be shorter and more economical.

However, Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAV), said, “The route is still not feasible.”

Tuan and other scientists calculated that the shorter distance would save fuel and sharply reduce flight times. The idea was to fly in a straight line, over Laos and Cambodia, instead of veering east over the East Sea.

Tuan said that flights could be reduced to 1,000km, saving nearly 550 billion VND (nearly 29 million USD) in fuel costs per year.

One of the idea’s supporters, Le Trong Sanh, former head of Flight Operations with many years of experience in the airline industry, said that it would be a good project, as it could bring many benefits to Vietnam, including reduced fuel cost, human resources and pollution, as well as improved flight safety.

While Tuan proved that the new path would save about 200km from the current route, CAV proved that the gap was not really the large.

Tuan and his supporters though that flight times would be shortened by 10 minutes and fuel would be saved, but according to senior Vietnam Airlines official Nguyen Van Tien, the new air route would save only two and a half minutes. The official said that the money saved would not cover the expenses of travelling in Lao and Cambodia airspace.

CAV deputy head Thanh absolutely agreed with the VNA’s calculations, explaining that the VNA had used a correct and modern calculation method for all of their flights.

Despite the fact that CAV told Tuan his idea was not feasible, they still decided to open a route from Hanoi to Pakse in Laos, connecting Hanoi with the existing Pakse-Siem Reap and HCM City routes, which Tuan said was very similar to his idea.

Thanh said that the route from Hanoi to Pakse in Laos would bring more opportunities for tourism and trade between the three countries.

Thanh said they could save 400,000 USD per month if they adjusted the routes for shorter distances, adding: “The new route is the dream of all the people.”

Source: VNA