China says not ready to resume Vietnam flights

By Hoang Phong January 23, 2022 | 07:17 pm PT

A Vietnam Airlines aircraft takes off at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, China, 2019. Photo by Shutterstock/Markus Mainka

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has rejected Vietnam's proposal to resume commercial flights since strict entry measures remain in place to control Covid.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said last month it wrote to its Chinese counterpart about restarting flights, but was informed that with number of Covid cases still remaining high globally as well as in China the government was yet to ease control measures, Giao Thong (Transport) newspaper reported.

It has not been authorized to discuss resumption of flights with other countries yet, the Chinese agency said, promising to start discussions with the CAAV as soon as the government relaxes pandemic prevention measures.

China is one of the few countries in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid policy and stringent entry requirements.

Vietnam resumed regular flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Bangkok, Phnom Penh, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo on January 1.

On Monday it will restart flights to Russia, the U.K., France, and Germany.

Before the pandemic, China was Vietnam's biggest tourism market with nearly 4.8 million Chinese visiting in 2019.

Besides, around 36,000 Vietnamese nationals live in China.