Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming holidays of Hung Kings Commemoration Day, NationalReunification and May Day from April 29 to May 3 are expected to be agood chance for transport enterprises to accelerate operations to betterserve people’s increasing travel demand.

Pham Manh Hung, Director of the Hanoi Bus Station JointStock Company, said that the five-day holidays coincides with the opening of the tourist season in many provinces and cities, resulting in a sharp increase in traveldemand.

As scheduled, the company will arrange an additional 627vehicles at the capital’s stations of Gia Lam, My Dinh and Giap Bat from April28 to the end of May 4, especially on some routes that will see a surge in thenumber of passengers, namely Ha Giang, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, ThanhHoa, Thai Binh, Lao Cai, and Son La.

During the peak days, the number of passengers served in the GiapBat and My Dinh stations will increase by 300% compared to normal days and is estimatedat 18,000 passengers per day.

Meanwhile, the Gia Lam bus station is expected to serve 8,000passengers per day, up 250% compared to the figure on normal days.

To ensure safety for passengers, representatives of GiapBat, Gia Lam, My Dinh, Nuoc Ngam and Yen Nghia bus stations said that they havecoordinated with relevant units to strengthen inspections to ensure that transport firms do not increase ticket prices and stuff passengers.

The railway sector has also built plans to increase the transport capacityon the North - South route and trains to tourist attractions.

Do Van Hoan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HanoiRailway Transportation Company (Haraco), said that the company plans to provide81,000 tickets from April 27 to May 3.

A representative from the Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR)said that during the period from April 28 to May 3, the firm will operate 22more trains on the northern routes from Hanoi to a number of touristdestinations such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Hai Phong and LaoCai.

Meanwhile, 32 more trains will be added for the southernroutes from HCM City to Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, and PhanThiet.

Amid the high travel demand, the Civil Aviation Authority ofVietnam (CAAV) has asked airlines to consider the increase of flights from Hanoi, HoChi Minh City to major tourist destinations during the holidays, while avoidinga surge in ticket fares and applying measures to ensure safety for flights.

Budget carrier Vietjet Air has agreed to increase the numberof seats by 20% to 70,000.

Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, PacificAirlines and Vasco, has also agreed to provide nearly 551,000 seats on domesticroutes./.