The private Vietnamese air carrier Air Mekong has received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) to halt operation of its flights as part of their human resource restructuring beginning February 28.

According to Vo Huy Cuong, Deputy Head of the CAAV, Air Mekong would return their Bombardier aircraft to the supplier because the carrier found them unsuitable for their targets and plans.

Despite the the suspension of flights, Air Mekong will continue its other registered commercial activities after February 28. It has yet to be disclosed how long the halt of flights would last. Customers who tried to book flights after February 28 all received the same message, “no flight schedule has been issued”. The carriers homepage shows a schedule that lasts only until the 28th.

Some news sources have released reports regarding Air Mekong’s debts, which are believed to be among causes of the halt. Everyday, Air Mekong spends VND1.3 billion (USD61,900) on petrol. Recently they failed to make the payment, causing Vietnam Air Petrol to send messages asking for payment.

Air Mekong began operations late 2010, and is Vietnam’s third private carrier to be licensed, after VietJet Air and Indochina Airlines.

The dissolution of Indochina Airlines and Trai Thien Air Cargo in 2011 revealed the difficulties for small carriers in the domestic civil aviation industry.

Indochina Airlines, the country’s first private airline, had its license revoked just six months after joining the aviation market due to serious losses. Meanwhile, Trai Thien Air Cargo was licensed in June 2008 with registered capital of VND500 billion (USD23.79 million) but had not launched a single flight before their license was revoked.

In spite of being restructured, Jetstar Pacific Airlines has continued to incur losses.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines accounts for more than 80% of the local aviation market share. The halt in operations at Air Mekong will help to increase Vietnam Airlines’ market share, but also may raise public concern over monopoly.