New regulations on conditions for conducting air transport business.

Cat Bi International Airport is located in Hai An ward. Photo: QUY MANH

Strict business conditions

On September 18th, the Ministry of Construction issued Document 15/VBHN-BXD consolidating the Decree regulating conditional business sectors and professions in the field of civil aviation.

Chapter 2 of the Decree focuses on air transport business, including air freight business (transporting passengers, goods, and mail for profit) and general aviation business (general aviation activities for profit using aircraft, excluding unmanned aircraft).

Air transport business conditions require enterprises to meet requirements regarding plans to ensure the availability of aircraft for operation, organizational structure, capital, and business plans.

Regarding minimum capital requirements (including equity and debt): Operating up to 10 aircraft - 300 billion Vietnamese Dong; Operating 11 to 30 aircraft - 600 billion Vietnamese Dong; Operating over 30 aircraft - 700 billion Vietnamese Dong; General aviation business - 100 billion Vietnamese Dong.

Regarding aircraft, the minimum number of aircraft maintained throughout the air transport business operation is 3 aircraft for air transport business and 1 aircraft for general aviation business.

Regarding foreign investment, for air transport businesses with foreign investment, foreign investors are only allowed to hold no more than 34% of the charter capital.

Domestic airline aircraft are parked at Cat Bi International Airport.

Conditions regarding ports and air services

For airport and airfield businesses, enterprises must be granted a license when they meet the minimum capital requirement of 100 billion Vietnamese Dong and the proportion of foreign investor capital does not exceed 30% of the charter capital.

For aviation services businesses at airports (including passenger terminal and cargo terminal operations, aviation fuel supply, etc.), the minimum capital requirement for these key services is 30 billion Vietnamese Dong. Similarly, the capital contribution ratio of foreign individuals and organizations for many important services (such as terminal operations, fuel services, ground handling and commercial technical services) must not exceed 30% of the charter capital.

Furthermore, the process for granting an Air Transport/General Aviation Business License is a rigorous one, starting with submitting the application to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, undergoing assessment by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (20 days), submitting it to the Ministry of Transport (15 days), and finally, the Prime Minister's consideration and approval of the license (10 days).

Licenses may be revoked in several circumstances, including: failure to maintain minimum capital for three consecutive years, intentional falsification of information in the application, cessation of air transport operations for 36 consecutive months, or serious violations of aviation security and safety regulations.

Businesses operating in conditional business sectors within the civil aviation industry must operate in accordance with the purpose and content stated in their licenses and maintain the conditions for obtaining licenses and certificates as stipulated in this Decree. In particular, businesses must meet the minimum capital requirements and annually submit fully audited financial statements to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam for inspection and monitoring of capital maintenance.

PV (compiled)

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/quy-dinh-moi-ve-dieu-kien-kinh-doanh-van-tai-hang-khong-521625.html