Int'l passengers through Vietnam airports drop 73% from pre-pandemic times

The figure was only equivalent to 27% of pre-pandemic levels as the international aviation market recovered slowly amid challenges in resuming regular air services to some key markets like Russia and China, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said in a report.

Vietnam opened its borders and resumed its pre-pandemic visa policies in March.

But due to an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, Vietnam halted regular flights to Russia in March while it only resumed limited services to China last month after nearly three years of suspension.

The aviation industry however had a bright side last year: it served 43.2 million domestic passengers, up 15.6% from pre-pandemic levels.