Beginning January 21, the Vietnam Airlines Corporation will sell its City-Con Dao flights at 25% less to residents of the islands. The move to reduce their ticket prices for the specific route was made after a request by Transport Minister Dinh La Thang.   Such request was also prompted by a previous proposal sent by Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Head of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province’s National Assembly Deputies Delegation to Thang.

The said proposal was based on the collective opinion of Con Dao District voters, adding that the high cost has a negative impact on the island’s investment and development, as well as growth of tourism.   Before the newly-announced discounts, one-way tickets were sold for VND1.45 million, VND1.2 million and VND1 million (excluding tax and fees).     The route is operated by the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO), a Vietnam Airlines member. The company services four flights per day on ATR72-500 aircraft, totaling to 28 flights weekly flying out of Ho Chi Minh City which connect to Con Dao.

The average flight time for a single trip takes about 30 minutes.     According to the report prepared by Dr. Tran Dinh Ba, the total distance of the route is 253km, citing the unreasonable rate for such short trip. He added that it takes passengers only one night to travel from HCM City to Con Dao Island by boat and would only cost them VND150,000-200,000. He also made comparison to the airfare charges from HCM City to Phu Quoc Island which is 50km longer but only costs VND 1.2 million.

However, Head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), Lai Xuan Thanh, stressed that the distance of the route is 309km, contrary to Dr. Ba’s claims.   Con Dao is an archipelago made up of 16 mountainous islands belonging to the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau covering a total area of 76 square meters. Apart from its special location, the group of islands holds a great historical meaning for the Vietnamese. Con Dao’s population is about 5,000.