Vietnamese airlines asked to delay full resumption of flights to China

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has asked Vietnamese airlines to delay their planned full resumption of flights to China to late April or early May, in order to wait for China’s decision on allowing tourists from Vietnam.

The CAAV made the request despite Vietnamese airlines having already laid plans to resume services to the Chinese market following the northern neighbor’s lifting of flight restrictions on January 8.

Earlier in February, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced it would resume five routes between Vietnam and China, or nine out of 10 routes connecting China, in March and April 2023.

However, China’s announcement of resumption of group tours for 20 nations that does not include Vietnam has negatively impacted the plans of Vietnamese carriers and prompted the CAAV to call for the delay.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the second biggest source of foreign visitors to Vietnam with eight million passengers in 2019, including 4.6 million carried by Vietnamese airlines, after South Korea.

Fourteen carriers served the two nations in 2019, including 11 Chinese on 32 routes connecting 14 destinations in China and five in Vietnam. Three Vietnamese airlines, comprising Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Pacific Airlines served 72 routes linking five Vietnamese locations and 48 Chinese destinations.

Vietnam welcomed 871,200 foreign visitors in January, up 44.2 times year-on-year, amid the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. South Korea, the U.S., and Thailand were the biggest sources of visitors with 259,000; 78,000; and 55,000, respectively. China was not in the top 10 with only 15,800 tourists, down 96% versus 2019.