25Oct2012 According to news from People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam has submitted a plan for renewing Hue Phu Bai Airport which will lead to temporary closure of the airport from March to November 2013.
The document reveals that the project planning phase has been completed and that the runway of the airport be repaired for safe landings and taking-offs.
The news comes as a shock to Hue Authority, the local business communities and especially Vietnam tour operators and Vietnam travel agents. Hue is a popular tourist attraction in the Central Region of Vietnam and considered a must-see tourist destination in Vietnam. Hue is on the travel itineraries of most travellers to the country and the closure of Hue Phu Bai Airport is to change all the tour programs for the travellers.
The alternative solutions would be that the travel routes between Hue - Hanoi and Hue - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) be changed to train travel or changed to the flights from/to Da Nang Airport. This would cost the travellers, the Vietnamese travel agencies and tour operators extra costs.
The news is heating up debates and controversies among the involved parties as to the necessary of the closure. "The resulting damage is as enormous as building a new runaway, then why not build a new one and maintain the current one?", quoted as saying from a Vietnamese tour operator.
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