Two stages proposed for international commercial flight resumption

The Ministry of Transport has proposed two stages for the upcoming resumption of regular international commercial flights starting December 15.

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)

 

At a meeting chaired by Deputy Minister Pham Binh Minh on December 9 regarding the plan, a representative of the ministry said the first stage, lasting for two weeks from December 15, will see the operation of flights between Vietnam and the destinations of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei – Taiwan (China), Bangkok, Singapore, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and San Francisco or Los Angeles. 

All international flights will land in the Noi Bai aiport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, with the frequency of four flights per week. The weekly number of foreign arrivals is expected at about 14,000.  

The second stage starting from January next year will last for one month and covers more destinations – Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong (China), Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, and Moscow. More airports are suggested to join the scheme, including Da Nang in the central city of Da Nang, Cam Ranh in the central province of Khanh Hoa, Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, and Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Flight frequency will be increased to seven per week, with the weekly number of entries estimated at some 40,000. 

Participants agreed with the policy of reopening international flight routes given that Vietnam now basically put the COVID-19 pandemic under control. They said there are a large number of Vietnamese people wishing to go home, including workers with expired labour contracts; students and people on working trips trapped overseas; and expatriates. 

The resumption will create conditions for foreign investors and experts to travel to Vietnam to study the market and work for foreign-invested projects, they added. 

Deputy PM Minh said the resumption is a practical need in the new normal situation. He required the building of a single medical declaration software applied to people on entry and good implementation of related information work./.