Vietnam

Asia

3Airlines

2Profiled Airports

3With ICAO

3With Callsign

Aviation History

Vietnamese civil aviation developed separately during the war era, with the South's Air Vietnam (founded 1951, majority owned with Air France) and the North's Vietnam Civil Aviation (established 1956) later unifying under the state carrier Vietnam Airlines after 1975. Corporatization in the 1990s-2010s, SkyTeam membership in 2010, and the rise of private low-cost carriers like VietJet Air (2011) and Bamboo Airways (2019) transformed Vietnam into one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing aviation markets.

✦Vietnam Airlines was only the second airline in the world, after Qatar Airways, to operate the Airbus A350-900.

✦VietJet Air grew from Vietnam's first private carrier in 2011 into one of Asia's fastest-expanding low-cost airline networks within a decade.

1951

Air Vietnam founded

Air Vietnam was established under the State of Vietnam, jointly capitalized with Air France, beginning operations in October 1951 as South Vietnam's civil carrier.

1956

Vietnam Civil Aviation established

North Vietnam formed Vietnam Civil Aviation in January 1956 following nationalization of Gia Lam Airport, the root of today's Vietnam Airlines.

1975

Reunification reshapes aviation

Following the Fall of Saigon, Air Vietnam ceased operations and its remaining aircraft and assets were absorbed into the unified state aviation system.

1995

Vietnam Airlines Corporation formed

State aviation businesses were incorporated together to establish Vietnam Airlines Corporation as the national flag carrier structure.

2010

Vietnam Airlines joins SkyTeam

Vietnam Airlines became the first Southeast Asian carrier to join the SkyTeam global airline alliance.

2011

VietJet Air launches

VietJet Air began flying in December 2011 as Vietnam's first privately-owned low-cost carrier, sparking rapid growth in domestic air travel.

2015

A350 delivery and corporatization

Vietnam Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 (the second operator worldwide after Qatar Airways) and became a joint stock company.

2019

Bamboo Airways launches

Bamboo Airways, backed by conglomerate FLC Group, began commercial flights, further expanding Vietnam's competitive domestic airline market.

Notable Carriers

Vietnam Airlines · VietJet Air · Bamboo Airways · Vietravel Airlines · Air Vietnam (historical, 1951-1975)

Wikipedia, Vietnam Airlines corporate history, Simple Flying

Aviation Firsts

Oldest Airport — contested

Gia Lam Airport — Hanoi (1936): Inaugurated 1936 per the Hebrard colonial urban plan (design: Felix Godard). Not civilian today — primarily a Vietnam People's Air Force military field; formally removed from the civil aviation network (2020); master plan abolished under Decision No. 980/QD-BGTVT (3 April 2023); excluded from the national airport network under Decision No. 236/QD-TTg (23 Feb 2018). ICAO VVGL, no IATA code. · Wikipedia ↗

Tan Son Nhat International Airport — Ho Chi Minh City: Wikipedia describes origins 'in the early 1920s' (no exact year given) as a small French colonial airfield with unpaved runways, expanded in the 1930s. Currently Vietnam's busiest airport, fully operating. · SGN ↗ · Wikipedia ↗

Neither article claims the national 'oldest' title. Tan Son Nhat's vague 'early 1920s' origin would make it older than Gia Lam's precisely-dated 1936 opening, but the imprecision makes a clean comparison impossible, and Gia Lam is defunct for civil use while Tan Son Nhat is fully operating. A genuinely unresolved contest depending on whether 'oldest' favors precision of date or current operating status.

Oldest Airline

Vietnam Airlines (1956): Founded 15 January 1956 as Vietnam Civil Aviation (Hang khong Viet Nam), under Decree No. 666/TTg, after Gia Lam Airport's nationalization. Became flag carrier 1993; incorporated as Vietnam Airlines Corporation 27 May 1995; Vietnam Airlines Company Limited (2010); Vietnam Airlines JSC (2015). The article does not itself claim this is Vietnam's oldest airline. · VN ↗ · Wikipedia ↗

South Vietnam's former national carrier 'Air Vietnam' (commonly dated to the early 1950s, defunct after 1975) would be the classic 'true first but defunct predecessor' competing claim here, but no source on Air Vietnam could be loaded this session (repeated tool failures) — so no dates or sources can be given for it. Flagged as an unresolved lead, not reported as a claim.

First Foreign Ground Handler

No documented foreign entrant found. Checked Swissport (a 2024 Vietjet MOU is cargo-development/consulting, not Swissport itself operating as a ground handler), and Vietnam's three main handlers (VIAGS/Vietnam Airlines, SAGS/Saigon Ground Services, TIAGS) — all domestic. SAGS's own milestones page names only one foreign tie (SIAEC, a Singapore line-maintenance JV partner from 2010), which is maintenance, not ground handling. No foreign ground-handling company (Swissport, dnata, Menzies, Çelebi, Havaş, WFS, Aviapartner, NAS) was found to have actually operated passenger/ramp/baggage handling in Vietnam.