A Vietnam Airlines flight with 170 passengers on board departing from San Francisco, the US, arrives at Da Nang International Airport on December 1. (Photo: VNA)

The flight was on the San Francisco-Ho Chi Minh City route but it was required by authorities to land at the Da Nang International Airport to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

This was the first regular direct flight from the US to Vietnam operated by a Vietnamese airline. Vietnam Airlines is now the only Vietnamese carrier providing direct service between the two countries.

According to the national flag carrier, the non-stop flight coded VN99 took off from San Francisco International Airport at 11:28pm on November 29 (local time) and landed in the central city of Da Nang at 6:03am on December 1 (Vietnam time).

It took 15 hours 35 minutes for the flight to complete the 14,000km journey from San Francisco to Da Nang. It is about 3 – 10 hours shorter than it usually takes for transit flights.

Mark Chandler, Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Commerce, said he hopes the regular flight will ramp up trade and educational activities between the two countries and serve as a bridge for Vietnamese visitors to the US and vice versa.

Vietnam Airlines is operating two regular direct flights each week between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco and plans to increase the frequency to seven flights a week once the pandemic is under control.

All flights between Vietnam and the US are carried out by Vietnam Airlines' most modern wide-body airplane Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Vietnam's aviation industry and Vietnam Airlines have prepared for 20 years to open a regular direct air route to the US. The scheme was officially completed on November 4 this year after the national flag carrier officially received a permit from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate non-stop commercial flight service between the two countries./.

Source: VNA

Vietnam Airlines successfully operates first direct flight to US

A flight coded VN98 of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport landed safely at San Francisco Airport in the US on November 29.