All restrictions on international passenger carriage by air lifted

The first flight after removing the restrictions was VN675 of Vietnam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on February 17 confirmed that Vietnam has removed all restrictions on the carriage of passengers by air.

Vietnamese and foreign airlines are allowed to operate with frequencies and routes between Vietnam and other countries and territories on the basis of signed bilateral and multilateral aviation agreements.

The CAAV has also sent direct letters to the aviation authorities of the countries and territories on the list of pilot flight markets in the first phase and from February 15 to restore regular international routes carrying passengers to Vietnam. Passengers entering Vietnam on international flights must comply with current regulations on entry and pandemic prevention.

As of February 15, regular passenger flights were open between Vietnam and several markets such as Japan, South Korea, China, Taipei, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Australia, Germany, Russia, France, UK, US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE.

The routes from Vietnam to China are however limited due to China's pandemic prevention and control policy.

Meanwhile, several airlines from these and other markets – such as Japan Air, Eva Air, Thai Airways, and Emirates – have reinstated routes to Vietnam.

Before the reopening of regular international routes, the monthly average passenger load to and from Vietnam was about up to 50,000 passengers.

Since the pilot reopening of international routes in January, the number of international visitors has increased to more than 103,000 last month, and to 153,000 as of mid-February.

With the removal of restrictions on passenger transport on international flights, it is expected that the number of passengers will increase sharply.