Bamboo Airways Suspends Scheduled Flights Amid Tax and Fleet Troubles
Bamboo Airways now owes more than VND440 billion (about US$16.8 million) in unpaid taxes. Vietnam’s Gia Lai Provincial Tax Department has warned it may impose a temporary travel ban on the airline’s beneficial owner if the debt is not paid. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(119); }); Tax Pressures and Route Cuts This tax problem arrives at a difficult time. The carrier has progressively cut operations after years of restructuring. From 1 August 2026, Bamboo Airways suspended its Hanoi–Lijiang charter flights. Officials said the route was no longer commercially viable. The airline apologised to passengers and travel partners affected by the cancellation. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(127); }); More significantly, the carrier has now stopped selling tickets for domestic scheduled flights from 1 August 2026. Its website and booking systems show no available options on major routes such as Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi–Da Nang and Hanoi–Quy Nhon. The last scheduled service is set for 22 August. Bamboo is operating only limited charter services with a single active Airbus A321 (registration VN-A227). Once flying up to 44 aircraft, the airline now lists just three on its books, with two parked. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(128); }); Image Credit: Boeing Fleet Collapse and Daily Disruptions By the end of 2025 Bamboo still had eight aircraft. Today only three Airbus narrowbody jets remain on paper. In practice, just one flies regularly. The reduction stems from ongoing talks with lessors over delayed payments and outstanding debts. These constraints force the airline to maximise every available plane. On 28 July 2026, a single Airbus A321 (registered VN-A227) handled a six-sector rotation linking Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Macau. Delays built up through the day. Five of the six flights arrived between nearly two and almost three hours late as problems cascaded along the itinerary. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(129); }); Planespotters.net data shows only one of Bamboo Airways’ two leased Boeing aircraft was operational at the time. Limited fleet availability has driven poorer performance. Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority reported the airline’s on-time rate at 66.8 percent in June 2026, well below the industry average of 75.7 percent. Bamboo Airways has apologised for the disruptions and introduced a refund process for affected passengers. It acknowledged that high request volumes may slow processing times. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(130); }); A Turbulent History These troubles have deep roots. Bamboo Airways launched in 2019 under the FLC Group, founded by Trịnh Văn Quyết. It grew quickly and once held around 20 percent of Vietnam’s domestic market. The carrier operated nearly 30 aircraft, including Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and served dozens of routes. Everything changed in 2022. Authorities arrested Quyết on stock-manipulation charges. FLC’s financial crisis hit the airline hard. Bamboo recorded a record after-tax loss of VND17.6 trillion that year. Accumulated losses pushed equity negative. Photo Credit: Melv_L – MACASR, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons In 2023 a new investor group, linked to Him Lam and led by Lê Thái Sâm, took control. They injected capital and tried to restructure. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(131); }); Yet the debt burden stayed high. An independent audit in July 2025 showed more than VND9,000 billion owed to suppliers, banks and other creditors. The biggest single creditor is Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) with roughly VND2,600 billion. Sacombank holds nearly VND4,000 billion. By September 2025 the new owners handed operational control back to FLC. At that point the airline had only seven aircraft and 12 domestic routes. The recovery that followed proved short-lived. Lessors reclaimed planes after payment delays. The fleet shrank further. Many domestic schedules for August 2026 simply disappeared from booking systems, culminating in the near-complete halt of scheduled services. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(132); }); Looking Ahead Despite the crisis, Bamboo Airways still talks of recovery. Management aims to add eight to ten aircraft each year from 2026 to 2030 and rebuild the fleet to around 40 jets. Talks have taken place with Boeing, Eastbridge Partners and South Korea’s RAKSO Holdings. Most of these plans remain early proposals. For now the outlook stays highly uncertain. With scheduled flights effectively suspended, heavy legacy debt, a tiny active fleet and ongoing tax pressure leave little room for error. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(133); }); Passengers face disruptions while the airline fights to stay aloft through limited charters. The coming weeks will show whether Bamboo Airways can stabilise, resume regular operations, or must shrink even further.