Vietnamese airlines take to the skies on new international routes

Vietnamese carriers Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air have opened or reopened multiple international routes since the beginning of the year.

Budget airline Vietjet Air on Thursday launched a new route connecting Sydney with Ho Chi Minh City with three return flights per week.

Flights will take off from Sydney on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and return from HCMC on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

In January, the carrier opened a new direct route connecting HCMC and Melbourne.

In mid-March, Vietjet said it will launch the first ever direct flights connecting Vietnam to the Australian state of Queensland. The airline will operate services between HCMC and Brisbane Airport from June 16 every Monday and Friday.

In March, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has resumed regular flights on the Hanoi-Beijing (China) route after being grounded for three years due to Covid-19.

Vietnam Airlines said that in the immediate future, it will operate the Hanoi-Beijing route with three return flights per week, but that is expected to increase from mid-2023. At the same time, the airline plans to open more routes connecting Beijing Daxing International Airport.

Vietnam fully reopened to tourism on March 15, 2022 with international flights restored in the post-pandemic period.

The country received 3.66 million international arrivals in 2022, up 23.3 times year-on-year, but down 79.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

International visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter of the year reached nearly 2.7 million arrivals, expanding by 29.7 times year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

South Korea was the biggest source market with more than 810,000 arrivals, up 55% and equal to 81% of pre-pandemic levels. Second was China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), with more than 270,000 arrivals.

The U.S. ranked third among the top international tourist markets with more than 200,000 arrivals, up more than 200% over the same period in 2022.