The Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route is the busiest domestic route in Southeast Asia, with over 977,000 passengers in July 2023. This route is also ranked third in the world for busiest domestic routes.
According to data from OAG, the total air capacity in Southeast Asia in July 2023 was 37.2 million seats, up 20% from July 2022 but still down 15% from the same period in 2019. Indonesia is the country with the largest total seat capacity in Southeast Asia with 10.5 million seats, accounting for 28% of the region’s capacity. Vietnam is ranked second with a total of 6.7 million seats, accounting for 19% of the region’s capacity. Thailand follows with 6.2 million seats, accounting for 17% of the region’s total capacity.
In addition to the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, Vietnam has three other routes in the top 10 busiest routes in Southeast Asia: Da Nang-Hanoi, Da Nang-Ho Chi Minh City, and Cam Ranh-Hanoi. Notably, the capacity of the Cam Ranh-Hanoi route continues to grow by 16% from the previous month.
Vietnam Airlines is the second largest carrier in the region. The company offered 2.9 million seats in the month, after Indonesia’s Lion Air with 3.1 million seats. Vietnam Airlines is also the unit with the largest increase in seat production in the region, with an increase of 57% from June 2023.
The top 10 leading airports in Southeast Asia also remained unchanged and accounted for 59% of the region’s total capacity. Tan Son Nhat Airport ranked 5th in domestic passenger traffic (nearly 2.4 million passengers) and international traffic (about 76,500 passengers) in July.
The increase in air capacity in Southeast Asia is a sign that the region’s aviation sector is continuing to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is still a long way to go before capacity returns to pre-pandemic levels.
