Vietnam limits domestic flights to HCMC over rising Covid-19 risks

By Doan Loan June 1, 2021 | 04:00 am PT

Passengers arrive at the domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC, April 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh.

Aviation authorities have decided to limit domestic flights to and from HCMC's Tan Son Nhat Airport for two weeks as Covid-19 infections rise alarmingly in the southern metropolis.

From now until June 14, five Vietnamese airlines are only allowed to operate a total of 63 flights to and from Tan Son Nhat Airport every day, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said Tuesday.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines is permitted to operate 28 flights, followed by budget carriers Vietjet Air (20), Bamboo Airways (11), Jestar (3) and newbie Vietravel Airlines (1).

Before the fourth coronavirus wave resurfaced in the country late April, Vietnamese carriers were operating hundreds of domestic flights every day to and from the Tan Son Nhat Airport.

But Vietnam's largest city has been struggling with a surge in community transmissions over the past few days, mainly linked to the cluster at the Christian congregation Revival Ekklesia Mission, which has triggered the biggest outbreak in the city.

Since its emergence last Wednesday, the cluster has been responsible for 202 cases in HCMC and Bac Lieu, Binh Duong, Long An, and Tra Vinh provinces in the south and Dak Lak in the Central Highlands.

The city of 13 million people including migrants entered a social distancing campaign for at least two weeks starting Monday.

The Tan Son Nhat Airport also suspended receiving foreign arrivals last Thursday until June 14.