Vietnam aviation authority seeks legal framework update to fly Comac aircraft

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) is looking for legal framework updates from authorities this year to approve the operation of China’s Comac aircraft.

In a Wednesday statement, the CAAV said to fly Comac aircraft in Vietnam, the authorities must update Decree 92/2016 on conditional business sectors or activities in the civil aviation industry and Circular 01/2011 on civil aviation safety regulations.

The CAAV has proposed changes to the lawmaking program 2025 to facilitate the move, according to the statement.

The CAAV said the approval of Comac aircraft operation would include tasks of approving the Type Certificate (TC) for Comac aircraft, individual flying license for each Comac aircraft under “wet-lease” with Vietnamese airlines, and updates to licenses of airlines and individual flying license for each Comac aircraft under “dry-lease” with Vietnamese airlines.

The CAAV clarified that it had worked with Chinese authorities in January to learn details of Comac aircraft ARJ21- 700 (C909). The aircraft is equipped with GE CF34-10A engines of American giant General Electric (GE), landing gears of France’s Liebherr Aerospace, auxiliary power unit (APU) of the United States’ Hamilton Sunstrand, flight control devices of the United States’ Honeywell.

Only three Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEM) provided parts for the aircraft, 13.6% of the total.

The significant standards differences (SSD) report showed that the standard for commercial aircraft of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have only minor differences in Chinese language for directions on the plane.

In November 2024, Comac said it has been partnering with Vietjet to operate its self-made airplanes in Vietnam as the former looks to tap the Southeast Asian country’s fast-growing aviation market.

In December 2024, Vietjet said it was working with the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to “wet lease” two Comac ARJ21 aircraft to operate some flights in Vietnam.