More than 2 weeks before the 2026 Lunar New Year, Viet Hoang (26 years old, Hung Yen) decided to return to his hometown for Tet from Ho Chi Minh City. Checking the air ticket prices to Hanoi, Mr. Hoang realized that many routes were sold out, while the ticket price increased by more than 10 million VND/trip.
Checking the prices of round-trip air tickets Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi on January 14-21.1, I was shocked when the lowest price was more than 12 million VND/person, flying at midnight and near dawn. If I wanted to fly at a good time, I had to spend 17-18 million VND, more expensive than 1 tael of gold," Mr. Hoang said.
If he flies later or returns earlier, he can save about 1-4 million VND. However, the price to pay is still too high, not to mention the journey from Hanoi to his hometown.
According to a survey by Lao Dong Newspaper, on the South-North route during peak days such as February 11-14 (ie December 24-27 of the lunar calendar), Vietjet Air airline does not have many seats and flights for customers to choose from, the lowest ticket price is 3.4 million VND/trip, flying at bad hours.
Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines only has special economy class and business class seats left. The price of special economy class is from 5.3 million VND/class, while business class is up to nearly 10 million VND/class.
On peak days, ticket prices range from 2.2 to 3.7 million VND/trip. However, for round trips, each passenger spends about 7-8 million VND for a trip. This number is not small for workers or families with many people returning home for Tet.
On the departure route from Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City on the last days of the holiday (February 19-21) also recorded high price increases. In particular, on the last 2 days of the holiday, February 20-21, the lowest airfare was more than 8.6 million VND/trip, the most expensive was nearly 12 million VND/trip.
Similarly, many flights from Ho Chi Minh City to central airports have run out of tickets near Tet. Among them, all flights from Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh from February 12-15 have run out of seats, passengers must fly to Da Nang or Noi Bai and then take a bus back to Vinh with prices from 5-6 million VND/trip. On other days, ticket prices are all over 7 million VND per round trip.
Other routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Buon Ma Thuot... also recorded ticket runs and high prices in the days leading up to Tet. Typically, round-trip tickets from Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang this time range from over 7 million VND/person. For the 14-21.2 route alone, the lowest price is 10.5 million VND/person. If you want to fly at a good time, passengers have to spend more than 17 million VND/person.
Airfares are increasing due to the demand of people traveling from South to North and Central Vietnam to celebrate Tet. In the opposite direction, airfares from North to South before Tet or from South to North at the end of the holiday are all very cheap, only from 700,000 - more than 2 million VND/person.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, in the period from December 15th to the end of January 15th, airlines are expected to operate more than 36,900 flights, an increase of 27% compared to the Lunar New Year 2025 and 22% higher than the normal flight schedule. This is the largest number ever of domestic airlines supplying during the Lunar New Year.
Accordingly, the number of domestic flights is estimated to reach about 27,200, an increase of 31% compared to the same period last year and an increase of 32% compared to normal days. Meanwhile, international flights are expected to reach 9,700, an increase of 17% compared to the same period and an increase of 1% compared to normal international flight schedules.
The total number of seats supplied on the entire flight network during Tet is forecast to reach about 7.8 million seats, an increase of 28% compared to Tet last year and an increase of 21% compared to the normal flight schedule. In which, the domestic market accounts for more than 5.6 million seats, and international routes are expected to supply nearly 2.2 million seats.
Faced with the pressure of increased travel demand during Tet, airlines are supported to increase flights at 6 airports including Tho Xuan, Dong Hoi, Chu Lai, Phu Cat, Pleiku and Tuy Hoa, from February 1st to March 1st.
