Vietnam Airlines eyes July resumption of international flights

The national flag carrier said in a release to airfare agents that it plans to fly to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and several Southeast Asian destinations.

In South Korea, it plans to operate daily return flights between Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City and the Incheon International Airport near Seoul and up to four return flights a week between Hanoi/HCMC and Busan City.

The airline is also planning three to four return flights a week from Hanoi and HCMC to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Laos and Cambodia are also possible destinations, it said.

Vietnam Airlines CEO Duong Tri Thanh stressed that this was only a plan that depended on permission from the Vietnamese government.

"Vietnam Airlines is ready to resume flights as soon as the restrictions are lifted," he told VnExpress, adding that Japan was another possible destination.

The national flag carrier is the first one in Vietnam to announce plans to resume international flights after a hiatus of three months due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Vietnam has allowed resumption of domestic flights resume since April, but is yet to announce specific plans for resumption of international flights.

The government has said it is considering allowing flights to destinations that have had no new Covid-19 cases for at least 30 days, including Tokyo, Seoul, Guangzou, Taiwan and Laos.

Vietnam has gone nearly two months without community transmission of the novel coronavirus. It has confirmed 332 Covid-19 cases so far, of whom 320 have recovered.