Bamboo Airways suspends S.Korea flights to contain coronavirus

By Dat Nguyen February 23, 2020 | 11:47 pm PT

A Bamboo Airways aircraft taxis on a runway at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by Shutterstock/Phuong D. Nguyen.

Vietnam’s private airline Bamboo Airways will suspend all routes to and from South Korea to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Both routes from central Da Nang and Nha Trang to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport will cease operation starting February 26, it stated Monday.

The airline is currently operating seven trips a week on each route with the narrow-body Airbus A21neo capable of carrying nearly 200 passengers.

It stated flight suspension is vital to warding off the coronavirus from South Korea where the number of confirmed cases has reached 763, and death toll 7 as of Monday.

Last year, South Korea was Vietnam's second largest tourism market behind China with 4.3 million visitors, up 23 percent year-on-year.