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The flight with 270 Chinese passengers onboard departed from London on July 18 and transited in Hanoi before landing in Nanjing.
The passengers were not allowed to leave the flight during the transit time in Hanoi. On the way to return to Vietnam, the flight did not receive any passengers to ensure safety for Covid-19 prevention. Meanwhile, all flight crew were quarantined as regulated upon landing in Vietnam.
The flight marked the first Vietnamese passenger flight to China since the country has ceased flights to China for over the past five months by reason of the pandemic.
From now to August, Vietnam Airlines will provide more passenger flights from London to Nanjing with the transit in Hanoi. The carrier has continued running cargo flights between Vietnam and China.
International air routes account for up to 60% of Vietnam Airlines’ total revenues. The firm has planned to resume flights to some Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan, Laos and Cambodia since August.
According to the International Air Transport Association, the global aviation market would lose USD419 billion in total this year due to Covid-19 and the figure for Vietnam would be USD4 billion.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently allowed the re-opening of flights between Vietnam and China after the Covid-19 pandemic. Flight frequency and related regulations would be decided by the two-side aviation authorities.
Dan Viet/Dtinews
