HCMC – National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has announced that it will reopen air services on international routes linking Vietnam with destinations in certain Asian countries and territories from July 1, making it the first local airline to do so following the Covid-19 pandemic being contained in the country. The resumption of international services, however, will depend on the Prime Minister's final say.

For flights to and from South Korea, VNA will resume services on the HCMC/Hanoi-Seoul routes with seven weekly flights and on the HCMC/Hanoi-Busan routes with three to four flights per week. It will also operate three to four weekly flights between Hanoi/HCMC and Hong Kong/Taiwan. The carrier’s flight frequency to Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia will be higher than to destinations outside the region. From July 2, seven daily flights will fly on the HCMC/Hanoi-Bangkok and HCMC-Singapore routes. It will also resume operations on Hanoi-Vientiane, Vientiane-Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh-HCMC routes with the same flight frequency. The flight schedule is awaiting approval and could be adjusted later, according to VNA. Le Hong Ha, vice general director of VNA, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the carrier’s flight crew and overseas representative offices were told to remain prepared for the resumption of flights following approval from the authorities. Based on its evaluation, local carriers could soon reopen two-way air routes to South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and mainland China that have effectively responded to Covid-19. At a meeting earlier, the prime minister had asked the national steering committee on Covid-19 infection prevention and control to announce safe destinations to which local airlines could resume international services. The Government leader specified that areas eligible for flight resumption must not report any new Covid-19 infections over the past 30 days. As a result, destinations such as Seoul in South Korea, Guangzhou in China, Tokyo in Japan, Taiwan and the Indochina countries were taken into consideration.