By now, the Ministry of Transport has not decided to suspend the air routes between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) in face of the complicated development of the acute respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Northeast Asian country, a high-ranking official said on February 23.

Passengers at Ha Noi's Noi Bai International Airport (Photo: VNA)

Speaking to the VNA, Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan further added that RoK passengers who have booked or bought tickets to Viet Nam have canceled their plans and currently flights from Vietnam only carry RoK passengers back to their country.

As there are no passengers, airlines have suspended flights from Viet Nam to Daegu city which is described as the epicenter of the disease in the RoK, the official said, stressing that authorities are closely watching the situation there.

Earlier, on February 21, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam issued a press statement affirming that the information alleging that there is a ban of flights between Viet Nam and the RoK as well as between Viet Nam and Japan is a fabrication.

(Source: VNA)