Vietnam's airlines halt all international flights

Aircraft are sterilised after every flight

The last international flight departing from Germany and arriving to Vietnam today (March 25) carrying 170 passengers will land at Van Don International Airport. Besides this, Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific have already cancelled all international flights until April 30, while Bamboo Airways has stopped its only remaining flight to South Korea and delayed the launch of new routes.

Vietjet Air has interrupted international flights to Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Japan. This airline will still operate routes between Hanoi and Tokyo on March 31, April 2 and 4.

In addition to local airlines, international airlines have also ceased all flights to Vietnam. Yesterday (March 3), Noi Bai International Airport received 264 Vietnamese passengers only travelling from Taiwan, Singapore, Ma Cao, and Japan, far less than last week (2,000 passengers arriving a day). All of these passengers have been isolated for 14 days.

At present, Vietnam has closed immigration for foreign visitors and only allows passengers with official passports to enter. The government also requested the Ministry of Transport to limit licensing international flights to Vietnam.

In order to prevent the epidemic from spreading, local airlines are sterilising all flights, especially those that have been confirmed to have carried passengers infected with COVID-19. As of March 25, Vietnam reported 134 cases infected by COVID-19, 17 of whom have already recovered.

Earlier, on March 23, the Ministry of Transport requested the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to halt receiving overseas Vietnamese at Tan Son Nhat International Airport from March 25 until the end of March 31, because isolation areas in Ho Chi Minh City are at full capacity. Moreover, the Ministry of Transport asked the aviation sector to facilitate outward flights carrying foreign visitors to help them return to their home countries.