(VNF) - The Vietnam Air Traffic Management (VATM) on August 18^th launched two so-called sky highways on the country’s north-south route that shortens travel time between Hanoi and HCM City by about 10 minutes.

Flights in the two opposite directions will fly separately on two one-way paths instead of the previous two-way path, which will help shorten flight time by reducing traffic conflicts in the air.

The system, which uses advanced area navigation (RNAV5) in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards, is used in most developed countries. It gives priority to long-distance state-of-the-art flights at optimal altitudes.

Route map of the new parallel north-south flight paths (Photo courtesy of Vietnam Air Traffic Management)

Pham Viet Dung, general director of VATM, said that in the past flights on the same path changed altitudes frequently to give way to flights coming in the opposite direction.

The two new sky highways, which have a straighter flight path than previous ones, are also expected to help pilots and air traffic controllers.

The Vietnam Flight Information Region, which connects the economic zones of West and Southwest Asia as well as East and Northeast Asia, is one of the busiest flight areas in the world, with more than 2,000 flights a day. The number is expected to increase by more than 17 per cent in subsequent years./.

Minh Phuong ( According to vietnamnet.vn )