Charter flights to be resumed to bring Russian tourists to Nha Trang

Nguyen Duc Tan, general director of tour operator Anex Vietnam, explained that the reopening of these flights aims to restore and expand Vietnam's international tourism market.

In addition to Nha Trang, charter flights to Phu Quoc will also resume, providing Russian tourists with more options when visiting Vietnam, Tan added.

Anex Vietnam will collaborate with Azur Air to operate a fleet of Boeing 757, Boeing 767, and Boeing 777 aircraft.

Eleven Russian cities will be connected to Khanh Hoa (home to Nha Trang), including Moscow, Barnaul, Tomsk, Ekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Novokuznetsk, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk.

Tan stated that each flight is expected to carry between 238 and 531 passengers, depending on the type of aircraft.

In March, there will be 12 flights, with an increase to about 50-55 flights per month from April to June. From July onward, the number will rise to 90-100 flights per month.

"The first flight will depart from Irkutsk, expected to land at Cam Ranh airport on March 17 with 238 passengers," Tan said, marking a milestone in the return of the Russian tourism market to Vietnam.

Russian tourists will stay at 3-5 star facilities for five days or more.

In 2024, Khanh Hoa welcomed over 105,000 Russian visitors, nearly 23% of the 463,000 Russian tourists who visited in 2019. In 2019, Russian visitors accounted for more than 71% of total foreign visitors to the province, with over 646,000 arrivals.

Russia was once a major tourist market for Khanh Hoa. However, due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, direct flights from Russia to Khanh Hoa were suspended in early 2022.

Previously, Russian tourists wishing to visit Khanh Hoa had to transit through countries such as Kazakhstan and China.