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Spring has arrived across the country, bringing with it the festive atmosphere of the 2025 Lunar New Year. However, the joy of family reunions for millions of people is being affected by the "ticket shortage" for buses. With only a few days left until Tet, many people are still struggling to buy a ticket to return home. Bus routes from Hanoi to provinces in the North and Central regions have become overloaded, driving ticket prices up dramatically, from 600,000 VND to 1 million VND per ticket, and in some places even double that. This is causing considerable anxiety and impatience among people, significantly impacting their preparations for Tet.
According to a survey, at Hanoi bus stations, authorities have received notifications of fare increases for the Lunar New Year holiday from four transportation companies. Of these, three companies at Giap Bat bus station increased fares by 60%. For example, the Hanoi - Gia Lai route (32-bed bus) increased from 650,000 VND to 1,040,000 VND per ticket from February 1st to 11th, 2025; the Hanoi - Da Nang route increased from 385,000 VND per ticket to 616,000 VND per ticket from January 29th to February 13th.
For the 2025 Lunar New Year season, the excitement of family reunions across the country will be postponed due to sold-out tickets and soaring prices.
Not only are tickets for bus routes from Hanoi to Nghe An and Ha Tinh almost sold out, but routes to northern mountainous provinces such as Dien Bien, Lai Chau, and Lao Cai are also in a similar situation. The demand for returning home for Tet (Lunar New Year) has surged dramatically, making it extremely difficult to find bus tickets. Furthermore, ticket prices on these routes have skyrocketed, even doubling compared to normal days. In addition, the practice of some bus companies overcrowding passengers and luggage makes the journey home even more arduous for people. Despite this, driven by the desire to reunite with family for Tet, many people are still willing to go to great lengths to obtain a ticket.
Not only bus routes, but even flights from Ho Chi Minh City to provinces in the North and Central regions are experiencing a serious shortage of tickets. Major airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo Airways have been increasing the number of flights to meet passenger demand. However, due to the overwhelming number of bookings, many flights, especially those on peak days before Tet (Lunar New Year), are almost fully booked.
Although previously, according to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, after allocating the number of takeoff and landing slots, compared to January 10th, Vietnamese airlines have added nearly 600 flights, with approximately 134,800 seats, during the period from January 17th to February 12th.
In particular, routes that previously had a 100% booking rate now have many more flights. Specifically, the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route has increased by 90 flights, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route by 89 flights, the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route by 24 flights, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa route by 22 flights, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hue route by 23 flights, the Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh route by 24 flights, and the Hai Phong - Ho Chi Minh City route by 43 flights… compared to the previous week.
While flights are consistently fully booked, train and bus fares are also skyrocketing, making the journey home for Tet (Lunar New Year) more difficult than ever for many people.
However, ticket shortages and sold-out flights persist, especially on the afternoon of January 22nd, when Vietnam Airlines' online booking system was almost overwhelmed by the massive volume of passenger traffic. The immense pressure to book tickets caused the system to overload, making it difficult for passengers to find and book tickets. Currently, the national airline only has premium fares such as business class and premium economy available on some popular routes like Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh. Not only Vietnam Airlines, but Vietjet is also facing a similar situation. Most flights from Ho Chi Minh City to provinces in the North and Central regions between January 22nd and 25th are completely sold out.
According to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, with the long Lunar New Year holiday, the number of air passengers has increased significantly. Therefore, to ensure safe, on-schedule, and convenient flights, passengers need to proactively obtain all information about their flights, check-in times, and understand and comply with aviation safety and security regulations.
The Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority advises that passengers engaging in behaviors such as spreading false information that could threaten aviation security and safety, causing disturbances, disrupting public order, theft or damage to property of organizations or individuals within the airport area and on aircraft, or using forged documents to board aircraft… will be severely punished according to the law and face temporary or permanent bans from air travel.
