Gov’t discusses resumption of int’l commercial flights
VGP – Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh chaired a meeting on Thursday to discuss resumption of international commercial flights proposed by the Ministry of Transport.
Participants at the meeting include leaders of Ministries of Public Security, Transport, Foreign Affairs, Culture, Sports and Tourism, Information and Communications, National Defense, Health, and the Office of the Government.
The ministerial leaders backed the proposal to reopen international commercial flights as Viet Nam has fundamentally put COVID-19 under control, attained high vaccination rates.
They agreed that there is there is a high demand of repatriation flights among overseas Vietnamese citizens on the occasion of the upcoming Tet holiday.
In addition, the resumption of international commercial flights is expected to facilitate the entry of foreign investors and experts to Viet Nam.
A representative from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism reported that Viet Nam has welcomed 1,179 foreign tourists since the pilot tourism sandbox program for fully vaccinated tourists from overseas was launched in November in Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa and Kien Giang provinces. So far, Viet Nam has yet detected any case of positive infections among these foreign visitors. By late December, the Southeast Asian nation is expected to greet over 15,000 foreign tourists.
However, leaders of the Ministry Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense underlined the importance of thorough preparation for commercial flight resumption.
Passengers entering Viet Nam on international flights must be required to meet regulations on disease prevention, take two doses of vaccine, or have recovered from COVID-19, and have proof of negative PCR test result within 72 hours before boarding.
Addressing the meeting, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham underlined the need to resume international commercial flights from highly safe destinations as the country has switched away from zero COVID-19 strategy to safe and flexible adaptation to the pandemic.
He requested a single medical declaration app for all entrants in favor of disease control and entry facilitation.
Earlier, on December 7, the Ministry of Transport proposed that the government allows regular international flights to resume on December 15, starting with nine destinations: San Francisco or Los Angeles (the U.S.), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Vientiane (Laos), Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), and Taipei (Taiwan).
Incoming flights are expected to land at the Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.
The flight frequency should be four flights per week per air route for each side.
From January 2022, six more air routes may be resumed, including Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany), Sydney (Australia), and Moscow (Russia).
Incoming flights are expected to land at the Noi Bai International Airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang City), Cam Ranh International Airport (central province of Khanh Hoa), Phu Quoc International Airport (southern province of Kien Giang), and Van Don International Airport (northern province of Quang Ninh).
Flight frequency will be increased to seven flights per week per air route for each side.
Viet Nam closed borders to foreign tourists from March last year, allowing only its nationals, foreign experts, investors, and highly-skilled workers to enter.
