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The time limit for Vietnamese airlines to operate flights to China should be temporarily extended to the end of April or until May 2023.
Vietnamese airlines must temporarily extend the deadline for operating flights to China to the end of April or May 2023 to await China’s impending decision to allow passengers to go to Vietnam, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 14 airlines operating between Vietnam and China in 2019, of which 11 were Chinese. These airlines operated 32 routes with a total frequency of 240 flights per week between 14 locations in China and Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.
Three airlines – Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and Vietjet Air – operate 72 routes between five points in Vietnam – Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang – and 48 points in China, with a combined frequency of 276 regular trips/one way/week and 145 non-routine trips/week (for a total of 421 flights/week).
The total number of passengers carried in 2019 exceeded 8 million, of which more than 4.6 million were carried by Vietnamese airlines, which hold more than 60% of the market. China is Vietnam’s second largest foreign market after the Korean market, and most of the passengers are tourists.
The Chinese tourism industry announced the reopening of travel to 20 countries in mid-February 2023, but Vietnam was not on this list. This would have affected the operating plan of Vietnamese airlines.
Prior to January 8, 2023, when China eased restrictions on regular international flights, all Vietnamese airlines developed strategies to carefully exploit this market, focusing particularly on official visitors, companies, relatives coming from abroad, and foreign students.
As of April 2023, operation is expected to increase steadily to welcome Chinese visitors from abroad.
Also, all Vietnamese airlines plan to operate regular and charter flights from Vietnamese cities to various foreign locations, including cities in China. This is in preparation for the return of foreign travel between the two countries on the summer flight schedule for 2023 (starting March 28).
