VietJet plans service resumption to North Asian destinations

VietJet Air plans to resume passenger service on flights to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, starting 29 September. From Ho Chi Minh City, the budget airline will operate one weekly flight each to Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon, as well as Hanoi-Taipei Taoyuan with the same frequency. “Passengers departing from Vietnam must have a medical certificate with a negative Covid-19 test result taken within three days before [departure] as well as [comply] with mandatory medical quarantine requirements of the host countries,” the airline says Thursday. Vietnam has suspended all international flights from 23 March. According to Cirium tracked flights data, in 2019, 85% of tracked passenger flights operated by Vietnam’s airlines were destined for domestic airports, at over 263,000 flights. In contrast, there were just 30,700 flights to the top five international destinations. South Korea accounted for 2.7% of total air traffic, followed by Taiwan, mainland China, Japan and Thailand, at 1.5-2% each.<br/>