Vietnam Airlines operated its first international commercial flight in months with a service from Taipei to Da Nang.
Passengers onboard the flight from Taipei were required to test negative prior to departure. Upon arrival in the central coastal city of Da Nang, the 200-plus travellers were tested again and required to undergo 14 days of quarantine, reported VnExpress International.
“This flight marked the restart of Vietnam Airlines’ inbound commercial flights after a period of suspension due to the complicated development of Covid-19,” said Vietnam Airlines in a statement.
Vietnam closed its borders in March 2020, allowing only citizens and certain categories of non-Vietnamese nationals and skilled workers to return. Other foreign carriers began resuming international flights last September.
The gradual relaunch of Vietnam Airlines’ international route network is likely to be a relief for the airline, which was cleared for a $520 million rescue package last year. It also slashed salaries of pilots, flight attendants, and ground crew by around 50 per cent.
Although Vietnam Airlines has already restarted domestic flights as Covid-19 comes back under control in the country, the airline said it already incurred a net loss of $460 million during the first nine months of 2020.
