Middle East conflict causes fuel shortages; multiple Vietnamese airlines will reduce flight numbers

Transferred from: Xinhua Net

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 29 - Due to the Middle East conflict leading to tight fuel supply and soaring prices, many airlines in Vietnam announced they will reduce the number of domestic and international flights starting in April, with some airlines cutting by more than 50%.

According to Vietnamese media reports on the 28th, Vietnam Airlines announced it would suspend 7 domestic routes starting April 1, and in the next quarter, based on the rise in fuel prices, it will reduce the number of monthly flights by 10% to 20%. VietJet Air plans to cut about 18% of its total capacity in April, with domestic flights reduced by 22% and international flights by 11%. Bamboo Airways plans to reduce its daily flights from the current 36 to about 17.

On March 24, in the village of Guangfu Bridge, Vietnam, tourists took photos beside incense sticks drying. Photo by Xinhua reporter Zhu Wei

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam issued a statement earlier this week saying that due to the Middle East conflict leading to tight aviation fuel supply, Vietnamese airlines face the risk of fuel shortages. Therefore, they decided to reduce the number of flights, temporarily suspending some routes starting April 1, but major domestic and international routes will remain operational.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, based on the current capacity and fuel supply situation, it is expected that flight operations can be stable until mid-April. Meanwhile, Vietnamese airlines are planning to impose a fuel surcharge on international routes, expected to be implemented as early as April.

Vietnam’s strategic reserves of crude oil are extremely limited, with energy heavily reliant on imports. Since the outbreak of the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, the global oil transportation artery, the Strait of Hormuz, has been obstructed, leading to severe turmoil in the international crude oil market and soaring oil and gas prices. Data released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade on the 25th showed that the country’s current diesel prices have more than doubled compared to the prices before the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict at the end of February. (Wang Yixin)