Vietnamese Airlines postpone resumption of air routes to China to April or May

Vietnamese Airlines have postponed the resumption of air routes to China to April or May, to wait for Bejing's next decisions about the allowance of its tourists to Vietnam, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), Viet Nam News reported.

China in mid-February announced the reopening of tours to 20 countries. Vietnam was, however, excluded from the list, which affected Vietnamese airlines' flight plans.

Earlier, after China had lifted restrictions on regular international flights on January 8, 2023, Vietnamese carriers had made plans on flights to the country, with a focus on passengers on business trips, those visiting relatives, and students studying abroad, so as to prepare for the recovery of bilateral tourism. The number of flights was expected to gradually increase from April, according to Viet Nam News.

However, due to China's new policy, the country has to temporarily postpone the resumption of air routes till late April or May depending on China's next decision, according to the CAAV.

Before the COVID pandemic, in 2019, there were 14 airlines of Vietnam and China operating air routes between the two countries.

Among them, 11 Chinese carriers operated 32 air routes from 14 destinations in China to five in Viet Nam, with a total of 240 flights each way per week. Three Vietnamese carriers (Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, and Vietjet Air) operated 72 air routes from five destinations in Viet Nam to 48 in China, with 421 flights per week in total, according to Viet Nam News.

Vietnamese carriers transported nearly eight million passengers in 2019, including over 4.6 million passengers or more than 60 per cent by Vietnamese airlines. China was the second biggest foreign market of Vietnamese airlines, after the Republic of Korea, and most passengers were tourists, data from the CAAV revealed.

( With inputs from ANI )

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