Vietnam Airlines to begin regular flights to US this month

By Dat Nguyen October 31, 2021 | 09:21 pm PT

A Vietnam Airlines staff checks temperature of a passenger at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Vietnam Airlines plans to operate its first regular flight to the U.S. starting at the end of this month, which will make it the first Vietnamese carrier to do so.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has deemed that Vietnam Airlines met its safety requirements to operate flights from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC to San Francisco International Airport in California, the carrier said in a statement.

The airline is waiting for the final permit from the Federal Aviation Administration and will start flying immediately afterward.

Vietnam Airlines and start-up carrier Bamboo Airways both have permits for charter flights to the U.S., but not regular services.

Vietnam Airlines was ordered by the Ministry of Transport in 2003 to begin direct services to the U.S. by 2005.

But concerns about profitability delayed them until now.