The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) is planning to reopen international air routes in four stages, which will be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2021 if approved.

Vietnamese airlines' planes (Photo: VNA)

According to the plan, the CAAV proposes restarting regular international flights by restoring flights with combo services in the first phase for Vietnamese citizens, and piloting flights bringing international tourists to some localities such as Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh.

The frequency is decided in accordance with the quarantine capacity of these localities.

With the pilot flights, the agency proposes not restricting the markets. These flights are applicable to foreigners who test negative for SARS-CoV-2 or meet the new guidance of the Ministry of Health, and are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

In the second phase from January 2022, the CAAV proposes piloting regular flights that only carry passengers with a certificate of receiving two vaccine doses or confirming to have recovered from COVID-19, without a written request allowing to enter Viet Nam from relevant authorities, except for immigration and medical monitoring requirements.

The initial frequency will be four flights per week per way for each side.

In the third phase expected to take place from April 2022, depending on the progress of vaccinations in Viet Nam and assessment of herd immunity after mass vaccinations, regular flights to Viet Nam will be deployed with post-entry quarantine not required when applying the “vaccine passport” mechanism.

Passengers in this period are Vietnamese and foreign citizens with a certificate of receiving two vaccine doses, or confirming recovery from COVID-19.

The initial frequency will be seven flights per week per way for each airline.

Finally, the stage of operating regular international flights on demand is expected to be applied from July 2022, depending on the vaccination progress in Viet Nam and the assessment of herd immunity after vaccinations in society.

Experts said that Viet Nam's plan to reopen international flights should be done from now until the end of this year in the form of reviewing each market, and avoid opening massively.

Source: VNA