Proactive prevention, absolute assurance of aviation security and safety

Panoramic view of Nghe An bridge. Photo: Khanh Ly

The Nghe An bridgehead was chaired by comrade Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee with the participation of representatives of leaders of departments, branches and sectors who are members of the Steering Committee for Counter-Terrorism Prevention and Control of Nghe An province.

Ensure absolute safety of flights

In 2018, with the strong direction of the Government, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee and the participation of relevant ministries, branches and localities, aviation security and safety were ensured, with no serious incidents occurring. Vietnam is a safe and attractive destination for foreign tourists and investors.

Domestic and international flights are guaranteed to be safe. Photo: Archive

Vietnam's aviation market (VAM) continues to have stable growth, passenger volume through Vietnam's airports and seaports reached 104 million passengers, up 10.4% and cargo volume is estimated at 1.5 million tons of cargo, up 8.9% compared to 2017. Transport of VAM reached 49.3 million passengers, up 10.8% and 408.56 thousand tons of cargo, up 28.5% compared to 2017. The total number of flights operated in 2018 reached 890,517 flights (up 10.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 104.2% compared to the 2018 plan, including 446,249 transit flights and 444,268 departure/arrival flights).

In particular, the aviation industry has ensured the safety of special flights of Party and State leaders and special flights carrying guests of high-ranking foreign leaders visiting and attending conferences in Vietnam.

Timely handling of violations

However, recently there have been a number of incidents of passengers disturbing public order and assaulting airline staff, using laser lights, flying kites... posing potential risks to aviation security and safety.

In 2018, the Aviation Security Force detected and coordinated with relevant authorities to handle 496 cases of aviation security violations; 18 cases related to smuggling, trade fraud, transportation of animal products, and medicinal goods of unknown origin; 38 cases related to theft at airports.

In general, the incidents were prevented and handled promptly, preventing serious damage from affecting aviation safety. However, the above situation also raises the issue of the need for solutions regarding the legal framework, deterrence, and strictness of the law regarding aviation security violations; the proactiveness, response procedures, and handling of incidents by aviation security control forces, and coordination in handling incidents between the aviation industry and local authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh chaired a conference on ensuring absolute security, order and aviation safety. Photo: VGP/Le Son

Focus on training human resources in the aviation industry

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh noted that ministries and relevant agencies need to proactively coordinate to identify risks to aviation security and safety, recognize signs of risks to have timely response and prevention solutions; focus on training, recruiting, and using a team of pilots, controllers, and supervisors with sufficient qualifications and capacity to meet task requirements. In addition,Building mechanisms, policies, legal corridors, and emergency response plans to help coordinate work to ensure aviation security and safety in the current situation to achieve high efficiency.

Passengers check in at Vinh International Airport. Photo: Archive

The Vietnamese aviation market currently has the participation of 68 foreign airlines from 25 countries/territories and 4 Vietnamese airlines: Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and VASCO (a branch of Vietnam Airlines Corporation). The country currently has 22 operating airports (9 international airports, 13 domestic airports) with a designed capacity of 87.3 million passengers/year; 1.1 million tons of cargo/year.