Vietnamese carriers suspend ops amid tighter restrictions

Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi) has suspended flight operations for two weeks from July 26 to August 7 after authorities in Hanoi began enforcing tighter COVID-19 measures last week. Fellow carriers Pacific Airlines (BL, Ho Chi Minh City) and VietJetAir (VJ, Hanoi) are in the process of scaling back their respective operations. However, neither has yet officially confirmed a full-on suspension of flights.

Local media reports indicate that only state-backed carriers Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi) and VASCO – Vietnam Air Services (0V, Ho Chi Minh City) continue to operate albeit only on routes that are still allowed such as Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi – Da Nang, Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu, Hanoi – Nha Trang Cam Ranh, and Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang and HCMC – Banmethuot.

On July 22, the Ministry of Transport suspended flights between Hanoi and the southern cities of Can Tho and Phu Quoc and also reduced the HCMC-Hanoi route to just two a day with 100-200 passengers. However, because Viet Nam’s two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), have implemented social distancing protocols as per government directive, few people are now choosing to fly.

The Vietnamese News Agency (VNA) said HCMC is the new epicentre of the current wave that started in April and leads the country with 39,526 cases.