Vietnam's airlines gear up to resume international flights

Vietnam's airlines are getting ready to restart international flights from next month even as the public remains leery about the risk of importing fresh Covid-19 cases. Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways have said they will resume flights to destinations like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - which, like Vietnam, have successfully managed to contain the pandemic within their borders - as soon as they get official approval. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the Vietnamese authorities on June 10 to work out the criteria for regions to which commercial flights can resume. These areas could be those that had not detected community infections for 30 consecutive days, he was cited by the Vietnamese government's online newspaper as saying. Some possible destinations are Guangzhou, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. Most details are up in the air as regional governments grapple with public pressure to keep borders closed while trying to keep alive tourism industries heavily dependent on foreign dollars. Vietnam, like Thailand and Myanmar, has banned entry to foreigners until June 30, except for diplomats and other groups deemed essential. But the airlines are raring to go. <br/>