Vietnam expects to operate 24 flights a week carrying 6,000-7,000 passengers from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to Vietnam.

The flights from Hanoi to Seoul will depart every Thursday while flights from Hanoi to Tokyo will depart on April 3rd, 8th, 11th, 16th, 23rd, 27th, and 29th. In May and June, the operation frequency will be two flights per week on Thursday and Saturday.

Flights from Hanoi to Sydney will depart every Saturday. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney will be on Thursdays and Sundays.

Currently, international flights will only serve Vietnamese people studying, working, or visiting relatives abroad who want to return home and foreigners returning home from Vietnam. They all must meet immigration regulations of other countries.

Passengers should learn about the immigration regulations announced by the related embassies to prepare necessary documents and procedures. The carrier will not be responsible if passengers are refused entry.

Vietnam Airlines also plans to launch package flights from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (China).

Three stages for resuming international commercial flights

In order to resume international commercial flights under the direction of the Prime Minister, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted a written report to the Ministry of Transport, proposing three phases for the resumption of international flights.

In the first stage, Vietnam will resume whole-package flights for Vietnamese passengers. Vietnamese airlines will collaborate with travel companies, Vietnam’s foreign commissions and local authorities to operate the flights and quarantine the passengers at hotels after they arrive in Vietnam.

The airfare will comprise the air ticket, the Covid-19 testing fee, the room rates and meals for 15 days and bus services between the airports and the hotels.

Combo flights will be operated together with the Government’s repatriation flights. For repatriation flights, the passengers will be quarantined at quarantine centers instead of hotels.

In the second stage, Vietnam will operate regular flights for both Vietnamese and foreign passengers from July 2021. The passengers will have to be quarantined upon arrival but they are not required to have a Covid-19 testing certificate.

Vietnam expects to operate 24 flights a week carrying 6,000-7,000 passengers from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to Vietnam. Passengers from each flight will be quarantined in two or three different hotels.

The airfare will comprise the air ticket, the Covid-19 testing fee, the quarantine fee and meals for 15 days and bus services between the airports and the hotels.

In the third stage, Vietnam will operate regular flights for both Vietnamese and foreign passengers holding a vaccine passport from September 2021.

The flights will be for people from countries that use the same Covid-19 vaccines as Vietnam. The airlines of each side will be allowed to operate seven flights a week.

People who have a certificate proving that they tested negative for Covid-19 three to five days before arriving in Vietnam and an international Covid-19 vaccination certificate will self-isolate at home for seven to 14 days, according to the Ministry of Health’s guidance. People who don’t have these certificates will have to undergo a 14-day paid quarantine period.

Vu Diep – Ngoc Ha

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