The capacity of major airports, such as those in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have recently been reaching their limits during peak hours.

Planes "queue" before landing

Aircraft often have to circle for half an hour before landing.

According to Lai Xuan Thanh, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), the congestion is only at these two airports, and only during the late morning to early afternoon. Noi Bai, in Hanoi also sees overload around midnight.

He added that, "This problem could be solved by better flight scheduling. The problem is that flights are usually arranged around the time zones of the most popular departure points."

He added that many other large international airports around the world struggle to deal with the same problem.

The CAAV is beginning to apply solutions to ease the burden at these hubs, such as adding runways and upgrading ground control, he said.

He emphasised the necessity to properly manage flight timetables.