Vietnam airlines boost Southeast Asia services

The national flag carrier announced Wednesday the first regular flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia after two years would take off Thursday.

There will be one weekly flight on the route each Wednesday starting March 1 when Malaysia would fully reopen its borders to foreign tourists without the need for mandatory quarantine.

Vietjet Air will double its current frequency on the route between HCMC and Bangkok to six daily departures after the government lifted all restrictions on the frequency of international flights.

Bamboo Airways has begun selling tickets for the HCMC-Bangkok route with its first flight scheduled to take off on March 17.

On Feb. 1, Thailand began a quarantine-free travel program it calls Test & Go allowing fully vaccinated travelers from Vietnam to enter without quarantine.