Vietnam launches first direct services from India to Phu Quoc

By Hoang Phong September 10, 2022 | 01:30 am PT

Indian tourists arrive in Phu Quoc International Airport on a non-stop flight from Mumbai on September 9, 2022. Photo courtesy of Vietjet Air

A non-stop flight from Mumbai arrived in Phu Quoc Island on Friday, marking the launch of the first direct service between the Vietnamese tourist island and India.

The flight operated by low-cost carrier Vietjet Air carrying 66 Indian tourists landed at Phu Quoc International Airport, around 14 kilometers from the downtown area, at 8 a.m., Vietjet said in a press release.

There would be four weekly flights on the route.

The Phu Quoc-New Delhi route will commence from Saturday with three flights a week.

In 2019, Vietjet became the first Vietnamese carrier to operate a direct service to India, one of Vietnam's growing tourism markets before the pandemic.

Since March, Vietnam has allowed quarantine-free entry and resumed its pre-pandemic visa policies under which Indians can apply for e-visas to enter the country.

Vietnamese authorities are now issuing up to 6,000 visas a day to Indians, a 24-fold increase from pre-Covid times, said Pham Sanh Chau, the country's ambassador in New Delhi.

Phu Quoc welcomed 100,000 foreign tourists in the first eight months this year, meeting half of this year’s target.