Vietnamese airlines will resume regular flights to China from January 8, similar to the pre-pandemic period, as the northern neighbor lifts Covid-19 restrictions.
In late December last year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that starting January 8, both Chinese and foreign airlines could resume flights as per their bilateral Air Service Agreements, indicating that temporary restrictions on the number of international passenger flights as well as the limitation on passenger load factors will be lifted.
The CAAC added that some airports might be understaffed and urged carriers to contact them in advance to avoid difficulties.
However, it would be difficult for Vietnamese airlines to resume flights to China to pre-pandemic levels for the summer season 2023 (March 26-October 28), said the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) at a meeting with five Vietnamese airlines.
The CAAV analyzed that demand for Vietnam-China flights in the coming time would mainly come from businesspeople, family visits, and students, so the aviation market would not instantly rebound to pre-pandemic levels.
In reply, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, and Vietravel Airlines, urged the CAAV to continue working with its Chinese counterpart to guarantee easier rules for flight slots. They also urged the CAAV to work with relevant authorities to apply suitable visa policies for Chinese visitors, as this group plays a key role in Vietnam’s tourism industry.
Vietnam Airlines will continue operating flights linking Hanoi to Nanjing and Shanghai; and HCMC to Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Guangzhou with six flights a week. The carrier plans to increase flight frequencies from March, from three to five flights a week on the routes to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, prioritizing regular flights.
Vietjet Air is running six flights per week connecting HCMC to Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Wuhan. It plans to launch flights from Cam Ranh in the central province of Khanh Hoa to Changsha, Chengdu, and Hefei later this month. For the summer of 2023, the Vietnamese budget carrier has 60 out of 85 routes with allocated flying slots.
Pacific Airlines is flying from Hanoi to Hangzhou and Nanning with two flights per week and eyes more Chinese destinations like Guangzhou and Fuzhou from the summer.
Prior to the announcement by the CAAC, some Vietnamese airlines had already announced the resumption of trips to China.
On December 6, 2022, Bamboo Airways debuted its Hanoi-Tianjin route with two flights carrying nearly 400 passengers.
On December 9, 2022, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines ran a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Guangzhou, the first regular flight to China to take off by the carrier after nearly three years. After that, the airline resumed its Hanoi-Shanghai, HCMC-Shanghai, and Hanoi-Hong Kong routes.
In 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the biggest source of foreign visitors to Vietnam with 5.8 million, followed by South Korea with 4.29 million, and Japan with 952,000, according to the General Statistics Office. The country attracted 18 million foreign tourists that year.