Vietnam receives flight from Seoul amid hopes for business rebound

A Vietnam Airlines flight from Seoul touched down in Hanoi on Friday, with businesses hoping it would be the start of a wave of commercial flights bringing back trade, and eventually tourism, to the pandemic-hit Southeast Asian economy. Passengers covered from head to toe in chalk-blue protective suits disembarked at Noi Bai International Airport at lunchtime, photos from local media show. Only travellers in approved categories, such as investors and diplomats, were allowed on board the aircraft, but the trip marked the restart of more routine commercial flights into Vietnam for the first time in six months. The Hanoi government has approved flights between Vietnam and six Asian cities -- Guangzhou, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Phnom Penh and Vientiane. Vietnam Airlines, whose first outbound flight in half a year traveled from Hanoi to Tokyo on Saturday, said it planned to restore its routes for all of these six destinations. "This is also an effort to 'overcome difficulties on our own,' aiming to soon restore international routes of [Vietnam Airlines] and other national airlines in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic," Le Duc Anh, a Vietnam Airlines representative, said in a statement announcing the flight from South Korea. Low-cost carrier Vietjet told Nikkei its planes will be linking Vietnam with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan again starting Tuesday.<br/>