Russia, Singapore eye resumption of commercial flights to Vietnam

At a meeting with Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The on Tuesday, Gennady Bezdetko, Russia’s ambassador in Vietnam, proposed restarting commercial flights as soon as possible to benefit tourists, investors and students, Giao Thong newspaper reported.

The agreed and hoped the two countries could soon discuss resumption of flights from major Russian cities to economic and tourist centers such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

Da Nang, a popular tourist hub, has sought permission from the government to allow in Russian and South Korean tourists from next month.

At a meeting Tuesday with the minister, Singapore’s ambassador, Jaya Ratnam, also hoped to quickly resume travel between the two countries, including commercial flights, and agreed to work toward recognizing each other's vaccine certificates for the purpose.

Many Singaporean investors have been showing interest in the Vietnamese market in recent years while around 12,000 Vietnamese citizens live in Singapore.

The government closed the country’s doors to foreign tourists and canceled all international flights in March last year to contain Covid, allowing only Vietnamese repatriates and foreign experts and highly-skilled workers to enter.

Vietnam is planning to switch from seeking zero Covid cases to responding safely to the disease so that socio-economic and tourism activities can resume.