Vietnam restarts flights with six cities in Asia for business travellers, citizens

Foreigners travelling for business or study from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, as well as Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei are included

Observers say Vietnam is keen to reopen to ‘safe partners’ to mitigate the pandemic’s economic impact and encourage foreign investment inflows

Reading Time:4 minutes

Passengers walk with their luggage at the departure terminal at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:26pm, 16 Sep 2020Updated: 9:25pm, 16 Sep 2020

Vietnam is restarting passenger flights with six Asian cities as it moves to shore up an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic by boosting business activity.

Foreigners travelling for business or study, along with Vietnamese nationals and their family members, will be allowed in from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, South Korea’s Seoul, Japan’s Tokyo, and Taipei, the government said on Tuesday, adding that flights to and from Cambodia’s Phnom Penh and Laos’ Vientiane would start next week. There will be two round trips a week between Vietnam and the selected destinations.

All travellers must test negative for Covid-19 before boarding their flight and again upon landing. Those staying in Vietnam for fewer than 14 days will not need to be quarantined but have to be tested, wear a mask and refrain from shaking hands.

Others must undergo quarantine at an army-run facility or government-designated hotels but if their second test comes back negative, they could be given a shorter stint of five days rather than 14. They have to pay for all quarantine and testing expenses.

Those who transit through the six cities from a different destination can also enter Vietnam but they will need to be tested and undergo a 14-day quarantine.

People wait inside the departure terminal at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Shin Jee-hoon, a manager at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s office in Ho Chi Minh City welcomed the move, pointing out that Vietnam was a popular destination for Korean investment.