Airlines resume flights to Central Highlands

Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air have both started operating one round trip a day each from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot, capital of Dak Lak Province and Pleiku, capital of Gia Lai Province.

The former also operates two trips a day from HCMC to resort town Da Lat, and one from Hanoi.

Vietjet Air operates one trip daily to Da Lat from HCMC and three to four a week from the northern port city of Hai Phong and Vinh, capital of central Nghe An Province.

On Thursday Bamboo Airways will resume services from Hanoi to Buon Ma Thuot and Pleiku, flying three or four times a week.

All carriers have mandated social distancing on aircraft to limit the risk of spreading Covid-19. Passengers need to wear masks for the entire duration of the flight, and all crews and technicians will wear protective equipment.

In early August, soon after the second Covid-19 wave began, carriers canceled flights to the Central Highlands.

Now the country has gone six days without new domestic infections, while hotspots Da Nang City and Quang Nam and Hai Duong provinces have basically brought their outbreak under control.

Vietnam's Covid-19 tally is 1,054 with 35 deaths.