A direct flight from Taipei landed at the Da Nang International Airport at 6.15pm last Friday, carrying around 138 passengers.  This was the first flight of a new service from Taipei operated by Viet Nam’s low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific. 

The opening ceremony of the new Taipei-Da Nang direct flights (Photo: Internet)

This is also the first time that a low-cost carrier has operated a direct flight between Taipei and Viet Nam’s central region. 

The airline will operate 3 return Taipei-Da Nang flights each week - on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays - utilising a 180-seat Airbus A320. 

The flights will depart from Da Nang at 11.00am and from Taipei at 3.40pm local time, with a flight time of 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Da Nang and Taipei have emerged as very attractive destinations for visitors over recent years.  Between January and September, the number of Taiwanese visitors to Viet Nam hit 382,000, up 16% against the same period last year.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the new direct flights last Friday evening, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung expressed his greetings to the 138 passengers from this first flight. 

He remarked, “At the present moment, the city is served by 21 international routes.  Since the start of this year, the city has been honoured with numerous notable awards from international organisations.  In particular, it was named as ‘Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination’ at the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2016, and it has been ranked 9^th amongst the top holiday destinations in Asia in 2016 by readers of Smart Travel Asia - the leading regional online travel magazine”.