Vietnam is viewed as a market of potential during global investment shifts, which will present an opportunity for the air freight industry to “take off” with the “landing” of many foreign giants and plans to set up specialized airlines by domestic carriers to regain market share.

After 30 years of development, Vietnam’s air freight market has developed remarkably, with average annual growth of 15.3 per cent during the 1991-2022 period.

Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions to supply chains in 2021, the volume of air cargo continued to increase, reaching 1.5 million tons. In the first eleven months of last year, the aviation sector transported 1.28 million tons of cargo, including over 1 tons of international goods.

However, Vice President of the Vietnam Aviation Business Association Bui Doan Ne noted that there is still much space for air transport providers to gain market share as Vietnamese airlines transport just 10 per cent of the total volume of cargo and still depend on global freight forwarders.

Mr. Michael Carson, Regional Marketing Director of Boeing in Southeast Asia and India, said the flow of cargo transported through and within East Asia is forecast to see the strongest growth in the world and Vietnam will become the fastest-growing air freight market in the Pacific route.

However, he warned that the air freight industry is not a separate business model and cannot depend on airline networks or the fleet planning and requires more methodical investment.

Country Director of Lufthansa Cargo in Vietnam, Doan Bich Thuy, said there were many reasons why it is interested in Vietnam, particularly Hanoi. The total volume of cargo transported by air in Vietnam has increased steadily every decade, rising by around 2.5-fold during each period.

“Recognizing the huge potential in Vietnam, we decided to open a cargo route to Hanoi, with the first flight landing in the capital last November,” she said.

Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s leading enterprises in air freight transport.