Published:  16:44 Thursday - December 08, 2016

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines welcomed its 20 millionth passenger aboard the 700,000th flight this year operated by the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) during a ceremony in Hanoi on December 7.

The lucky passenger is Mamoru Kato from Japan, the 19,999,999th is Oda Junichi from Japan and the 20,000,001th is Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy from Vietnam, who were aboard the flight from Japan’s Narita to Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Nhat urged Vietnam Airlines and the VATM to ensure the absolute safety of their flights, modernize equipment and improve the quality of their workforces to become some of the leading flight suppliers in Southeast Asia and most popular carriers in the Asia-Pacific.

This year, Vietnam Airlines is expected to transport 20.6 million passengers and successfully operate new fleets of Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A350s.

Also this year, the carrier was also certified as a four-star airline by the UK-based airline and airport rating organization SkyTrax and welcomed Japan’s ANA Holdings as a strategic shareholder.

The VATM hopes to operate more than 742,000 flights this year, up 16% from 2015.