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| Lien Khuong airport now welcomes over 2 million passengers each year. (Photo: tuoitre.vn) |
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Transport Minister Le Anh Tuan said that the airport’s runway, which is 3,250 metres long and 45 metres wide, can handle the Code D plane like the Airbus A300, the Boeing B757, and equivalents.
Accordingly, it serves regular and irregular international and domestic trips, private aircraft, military aircraft and other licensed types.
Direct flights from the airport to many countries will create favourable conditions for transporting international tourists as well as goods, vegetables, flowers, and agricultural products from the Central Highlands to many other countries at the lowest costs and the shortest time.
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| Representatives from agencies and Lam Dong authority at the ceremony. (Photo: VNA) |
Nguyen Ngoc Phuc, Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong provincial People's Committee emphasised that the Lien Khuong international airport will create very favourable conditions for local socio-economic development in particular and the Central Highlands region in general, especially for the tourism sector as Da Lat is becoming an attractive destination for international tourists.
Construction on Lien Khuong airport, originally named Lien Khang, was started in 1933. It is about 39km from Da Lat city’s downtown. After many upgrades and expansions, the airport now welcomes over 2 million passengers on average each year. Over the past several years, the transport ministry has allowed Lien Khuong to operate many irregular international flights transporting tourists to the province although it is a domestic airport.
According to the province’s planning until 2030, the Lien Khuong international airport will meet criteria of an 4E level airport with an area of 340.8 ha and a designated capacity of 5 million passengers per year. By 2050, it is expected to expand to 486,8 ha and host 7 million passengers yearly.
Vietnam secure golds at Thailand's Jujitsu Open Grand Prix
Vietnam won two golds at the 2024 Thailand Open Grand Prix jujitsu tournament which ended on June 23 in Bangkok, said the Vietnam News Agency.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc took her gold in the women's over-70kg Jujitsu Gi category. The Asian and Asian youth champion faced no difficulties beating four rivals from the Philippines and the hosts in a round-robin format event to top the podium.
The other gold went to Tran Hong An in the women's U18 U57kg class.
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| Jujitsu fighter Nguyen Thị Thanh Truc (left) and her coach pose for a photo after winning gold at the 2024 Thailand Open Grand Prix. (Photo of Thanh Truc) |
Vietnamese fighters also took bronze medals in the women's U57kg by Nguyen Thi Minh Vuong and women's U18 U48kg by Tran Thi Hoang Van.
The Thai tournament was held from June 20-23 featuring hundreds of competitors from more than 30 countries and regions. High-ranking athletes would collect points to earn their spots at the World Jujitsu Championships and World Youth Jujitsu Championships later this year.
After the Thailand Grand Prix, Vietnamese martial artists will take part in the Southeast Asian Jujitsu Championship on July 4-8 in Bali, Indonesia.
Northern provinces urged to respond to African swine fever
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has urged four provinces of Bac Kan, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, and Hoa Binh to implement rigorous measures against African swine fever, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Since early 2024, the disease has severely impacted all eight districts in Bac Kan, resulting in the culling of nearly 10,000 pigs, accounting for over 40% of the national total.
In Lang Son, the fever affects 10 districts, with almost 4,000 pigs culled, or about 17% of the national figure.
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An African swine fever outbreak was detected in Tien Phong commune,
Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA) |
Quang Ninh has seen outbreaks in 23 communes, with nearly 1,600 pigs culled.
Hoa Binh has reported outbreaks in 18 communes, resulting in the culling of nearly 1,300 pigs.
Following these outbreaks, the Veterinary Department identified several causes contributing to the disease's spread, including delayed reporting about the disease at district and provincial levels and inadequate implementation of prevention measures.
Despite available vaccines, less than 1% of pigs nationwide have been vaccinated.
In response, the MARD has instructed provincial committees to declare outbreaks, focus on prevention measures, and allocate resources for disinfection and containment efforts.
They are also to enforce strict sanitation and disinfection protocols in affected areas.
Localities are required to guide livestock farmers to rigorously enforce daily sanitation practices, including disinfection using lime powder and chemicals in and around their breeding areas. They are also ensuring that households and breeding facilities affected by the disease thoroughly disinfect to eliminate pathogens and prevent further spread.
Provinces are conducting reviews and mandating all personnel engaged in epidemic prevention to adhere strictly to personal protective measures, sanitation protocols, and disinfection procedures to prevent disease transmission during the handling, transportation, and disposal of infected pigs.
The provinces are urged to allocate funds for vaccinating livestock against diseases and enhance veterinary capacities, ensure timely reporting, and disseminate information on disease prevention and vaccine use.
Pacific Airlines returns to domestic skies
Pacific Airlines will resume the operation of domestic flights on June 26 with a plane transferred by its parent company Vietnam Airlines Group, according to Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper.
This is the first of three planes that Pacific Airlines plans to lease from the national flag carrier, the newspaper reported.
Pacific Airlines has reported to the authorities and relevant units about the return flight time slated for the next few days, the online newspaper said.
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| Illustrative image (Photo: Pacific Airlines) |
It added that the airline is expected to operate six flights on some domestic routes from and to Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Chu Lai, Thanh Hoa and Vinh.
On March 18, Pacific Airlines suspended flight operations to restructure its fleet and flight network to ensure operational efficiency.
Pacific Airlines was established in 1991, and was the first low-cost airline with state-owned enterprises as shareholders.
The airline has faced operational difficulties for many years. In 2022, the company incurred a loss of nearly 2.1 trillion VND (84.5 million USD) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic./.