VIETNAM/ITALY. Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Società Esercizi Aeroportuali (SEA) Group yesterday signed a Sister Airport Agreement (SAA) at Routes Asia 2022 to establish mutual sustainable development.
The high-profile event is taking place in Da Nang, Vietnam this week [look out for Martin Moodie’s extensive on-location report from Ho Chi Minh City publishing in July -Ed].
ACV operates 22 airports in Vietnam, including nine international airports, while SEA Group is the operator of the Milan airports Malpensa and Linate.
Under the agreement, SEA and ACV will exchange experiences and mutual development, and facilitate the development of international routes to and from the airports under their management.
SEA described the move as an “important milestone” which will also contribute to the promotion of aviation activities between Vietnam and Italy and to the development of trade, tourism and investment.
ACV Executive Vice President – Business and Market Development Nguyen Quoc Phuong said: “Signing an SAA with SEA Group is an honour for ACV as it is the first airport operator from Europe to set up a strong collaboration in air traffic development with us.
“Vietnam’s skies are now entirely accessible to the rest of the world as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that the cooperation will dramatically increase air traffic volumes between Vietnam and Italy.”
He added: “ACV is committed to supporting SEA in promoting new routes to leisure and business destinations in Vietnam.”
SEA Group is one of the ten largest airport operators in Europe for cargo and passenger traffic. It holds the status of second-largest in Italy for the number of passengers handled annually and is the biggest in terms of goods transported.
The company’s VP Aviation Business Development Andrea Tucci said: “The signature of the SAA with ACV marks an important milestone for the development of air traffic between Milan and Vietnam.
“Vietnam is a focus market for SEA because of the rapid growth of both touristic and business segments. By signing today the SAA we put in place a strong cooperation with ACV sharing the common goal to establish the soonest direct flight to Milan.”
