National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said on September 23 that it is selling tickets for Flight VN471 from the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Seoul to Ha Noi, scheduled to take off on September 25 morning.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

This is the first official regular international commercial flight to Viet Nam since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Passengers will be carried by Airbus A350 aircraft which consists of over 300 seats.

Due to special requirements on epidemic prevention and control, the tickets will not be sold via the airlines’ website. Therefore, customers can buy tickets via official agents of the carrier in Viet Nam and the RoK.

Earlier, for the first time in six months, an international commercial flight took off from Hanoi, heading to Japan.

Flight VN310, conducted by Vietnam Airlines, left Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 6.30am on September 19 morning for a five-hour journey to Narita Airport in Tokyo.

It marked the beginning of the resumption of regular flights to a number of selected destinations in Asia since planes were grounded back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On board were Vietnamese trainees, workers, and experts heading back to Tokyo to continue their study and work after months of disruption.

It also carried a number of Japanese citizens returning home.

All 60 passengers boarding the Vietnam Airlines flight had to present a mandatory proof of a negative coronavirus tests (PCR diagnostics) issued three days before the flight, declare their travel history in the 14 days prior and download contract tracing apps as per health protocols set by the host country.

Vietnam Airlines is set to organise two more flights from Hanoi to Tokyo on September 25 and 30, and one from HCM City to Tokyo on September 30.

Budget carrier Vietjet has also announced resumption of flights to Japan, the RoK, and Taiwan (China) starting September 29.

International flights to and from Viet Nam were grounded late March after the Government imposed border closures against all foreign entries.

Since then, Vietnamese airlines only carried out a number of irregular flights to repatriate Vietnamese citizens overseas or bring to the country a limited number of foreign investors, highly skilled workers, experts, business managers and diplomats.

Recently, the Vietnamese Government decided to reopen international flights to six Asian destinations – Japan, the RoK, mainland China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Laos – all important partners and deemed to be epidemiologically safe, as the country aims to balance COVID-19 prevention and economic development.

Source: VNA