Sydney Airport welcomes 50th airline as Vietjet touches down

A Vietjet Airbus on the tarmac at Phu Bai International Airport.
Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Len Varley - Assistant Editor 5 Min Read
5 Min Read

In a major milestone, Sydney Airport officially welcomed its 50th airline with Vietjet’s inaugural service from Ho Chi Minh City arriving on Thursday 13 April.

This is the highest number of airlines flying regular scheduled passenger services the airport has ever seen in its 103-year history.

Vietjet touches down in Sydney


Over the Easter weekend, Vietnamese budget carrier Vietjet marked its own milestone when it landed in Australia for the first time. The airlines first Australian scheduled flight ever landed at Victoria’s Melbourne airport over the weekend.

Less than a week after its maiden Australian flight, Vietjet flight VJ85 touched down in Sydney at just after 07:30 local time yesterday with nearly 400 passengers onboard.

Vietjet will now be offering three return services a week from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney on its A330-300 fleet.

Sydney Airport now has four airlines flying to Vietnam, a rapidly growing tourist market which attracted more than 317,000 Australian travellers in 2019.

Sydney airport sees six new airlines


In total, Sydney Airport has now onboarded six new airlines over the last 12 months.

In addition to this, existing airlines have now returned and are continuing to increase capacity, providing great opportunities and choice for the travelling public.

In 2019, there were 48 airlines flying regular passenger services through Sydney with this dropping to around 20 airlines in April 2020.

Photo Credit: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said: “For the first time in our proud 103-year history, we have 50 airlines flying through Sydney Airport. This is an incredible achievement when you consider air travel was almost non-existent through COVID.”

“Attracting airline networks to rebuild capacity to Sydney is key to supporting the recovery of international tourism, business travel, student travel and the broader New South Wales economy.

“The Vietnam market has experienced a strong surge in capacity and demand, with passenger volumes 14 per cent above pre-COVID levels in March 2023.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Vietjet to Sydney Airport, as the airline will be providing a further low-cost option to this sought-after and popular destination.

“Vietjet’s extensive domestic network will also deliver greater choice for passengers wanting to explore other cities across Vietnam.”

“As Australia marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Vietnam it’s fitting that our 50th airline is a Vietnamese carrier.”

Vietjet statement


Vietjet Vice President, Nguyen Thanh Son said: “Australia plays an important role in our business strategy.”

“Connecting Sydney with Ho Chi Minh City demonstrates Vietjet’s strong commitment to provide a new choice for Australians to explore Vietnam and other Asian destinations through our diverse classes of SkyBoss Business, Skyboss, Deluxe and Eco.”

“Our flights will make significant contributions to the economic and tourism growth of Vietnam, Australia and New South Wales in the coming years.”

The Australia Vietnam connection


There is a significant amount of tourist and business travel between Australia and Vietnam. The two countries have strong economic and cultural ties, which have contributed to an increase in travel in both directions.

Many Australian businesses have operations in Vietnam, and there are also many Vietnamese businesses operating in Australia. This has led to an increase in business travel between the two countries.

Vietnam has also become an increasingly popular tourist destination for Australians, with its rich history, culture, and natural beauty attracting many visitors.

In recent years, the number of Australian tourists visiting Vietnam has been steadily increasing, and Vietnam has become one of the top destinations for Australian travelers in Southeast Asia.

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