Flights set to take off on 10 domestic routes Sunday

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) had sought opinions from 20 provinces and cities that have airports on gradually resuming flights. Only 13 have responded so far.

Ten localities including HCMC have basically agreed with aviation authorities on resuming domestic flights while Hanoi, Hai Phong and Gia Lai have called for delaying the resumption.

With the agreement of localities, CAAV is planning to operate return flights from HCMC to Thanh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Phu Quoc Island with a daily frequency of four flights.

There would be one return flight each week on the HCMC-Hue route and two weekly flights on HCMC-Nghe An route.

From Thanh Hoa to Khanh Hoa, Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak Province and Phu Quoc, there would be one daily flight each.

In case the Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi and Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong City remain closed in the coming days, passengers in the north wishing to fly to the south will have to travel by road to Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa Province, around a three-hour drive from the capital city.

The CAAV has said that passengers would be exempt from centralized quarantine at their destinations as regulated by the Ministry of Health.

To fly, passengers need to be fully vaccinated, with the second dose administered at least 14 days but no more than 12 months prior or show a certificate proving they had contracted or recovered from disease no more than six months prior.

In addition, passengers coming from ‘red zones,’ deemed to be at very high risk of spreading the novel coronavirus, must furnish a negative Covid certificate with the PCR or rapid test done within 72 hours before departure.

Those departing from southern localities like HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long Nai, the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspots, are required to furnish a negative Covid certificate with tests done within 72 hours before departure and they would have their health monitored at home or place of residence for seven days after arrival.

They would be tested twice on the first and seventh day.

As the latest Covid-19 outbreak raged, aviation authorities had late August instructed airlines to stop selling tickets until further notice.

In the fourth wave that began late April the country has recorded over 818,000 Covid-19 cases.

National borders were closed and all international flights stopped in March last year and are yet to resume.