Airlines fund flights for relatives of Vietnam’s football team to attend U23 Asian Cup final

Vietnam Airlines has offered to fund travel, accommodation and visa expenses for two relatives of each member of the country's U23 football team to attend the final of the Asian Football Confederation Under-23 (AFC U23) Championship in Changzhou, China on Saturday.

To serve a spike in demand from local football fans, the airline will also put on two extra flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Changzhou.

The airline also plans to offer free shuttle buses to take local fans from the airport, more than 20 kilometers from Changzhou, to the stadium.

“The valiant fighting spirit of the players has made history, making millions of hearts of football fans burst with pride and joy,” a representative from Vietnam Airlines said after the team's dramatic victory over Qatar in their semifinal on Tuesday.

To support Vietnam Airlines' offer, Jetstar Pacific has said it will fund domestic connections for relatives to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City so they can take advantage of the free flights to Changzhou.

Local carrier Vietjet Air has also awarded the team and coach Park Hang-seo free flights on 38 domestic routes and 38 international routes to Asian countries.

“This is a reward for our brave warriors, representing a promising young generation of Vietnamese sportsmen. We expect the players will continue to try their best and bring happiness to fans nationwide,” said an airline exec.

Vietjet has also said it will paint images of the football team on its planes if the team wins the championship.

Local businesses have announced bonuses of over VND16 billion ($708,800) for the team, and that figure is expected to increase.

Vietnam will face Uzbekistan on January 27 in the final after the latter defeated South Korea 4-1 in extra time on Tuesday.