Vietnam Plans International Flights for 'New Normal' Era

South Korea will be one of the first 10 markets that Vietnam will resume international flights to. In this photo, passengers boarded a plane from Incheon International Airport on a vaccine passport pilot flight in September 2021. Photo Nguoi Lao Dong

Dinh Viet Thang, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), has submitted a report to the Ministry of Transport on the international flight resumption plan.

Accordingly, passengers entering Vietnam must take RT-PCR/RT-LAMP tests for SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours before the first flight.

Four resumption phases have been proposed by CAAV to gradually reopen international flight routes.

In the first phase which is schedule to take place in the fourth quarter of this year, CAAV will arrange flights for Vietnamese nationals who want to travel to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, France, Germany, Russia, Australia and some other countries for work.

Repatriation flights for Vietnamese nationals living overseas will be arranged by Vietnamese airlines and travel agents following instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Passengers will pay for a package of flight tickets, testing, food and accommodation during the quarantine period.

Vietnamese airlines and travel agents must acquire agreements from authorities of localities which host passengers in centralized quarantined areas.

Vân Đồn, Đà Nẵng and Cam Ranh airports are among airports to welcome the Vietnamese nationals back home. The frequency of flights to localities will be based on the capacity of local quarantine sites. Those flights will be licensed only after local authorities agree with the plan.

Resumption of international tourism

The CAAV plans to pilot welcoming foreign tourists in packaged tours arranged by travel agents to Phu Quoc City of southern Kien Giang Province, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Quang Nam cities and Da Nang City.

Tourists must own certificates of full vaccine doses with the last dose being inoculated at least 14 days and not more than 12 months since their departure. They must also present Covid recovery certificates within six months if they were infected with the coronavirus.

Vietnam will pilot welcoming foreign tourists in packaged tours. Photo Dang Cong San

Travel agents are allowed to arrange one flight per day in the first month since the pilot starts (about 4,000 to 6,000 visitors per day) and two flights per day from the second month, the CAAV said.

A series of conditions have been put forward to welcome tourists to those localities. For example, all service providers in those localities must be fully vaccinated. At least 80 per cent of local people qualified for vaccination must fully receive two jabs.

In the second phase since January 2022, international flights for Vietnamese and foreign nationals from China, Hongkong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, France, Germany, Russia, UK, Australia and other safe destinations will be piloted with the frequency of four flights per week per route.

The immigration conditions are the same. Noi Bai, Van Dong, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Tan Son Nhat, Can Tho, Phu Quoc airports will receive those flights following permission of local authorities.

International flights from other markets not in the safety list and flights not in the plan must acquire permission from Vietnamese authorities.

Depending on the trial results, the CAAV will continue to expand the piloted markets and increase the flight frequency.

Since April 2022, international flights with the frequency of seven flights per week per route will resume applying vaccine passports.

The feasibility of this plan will depend on the vaccination rate and assessment of community immunization in Vietnam.

Vietnam will recognize vaccine passports from a number of countries. Photo Dang Cong San

Since July 2022, the flights will be exploited without any limited frequency.

Passengers must have vaccination or recovery certificates and be self-quarantined at their residency from three to seven days following guidelines of the health ministry.

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