Some Vietnamese airlines have resumed flight operations to and from Da Nang from Monday (Sept 7), after following more than a month of suspension imposed due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the city.

Vietnam Airlines, the flag carrier, is currently operating one round trip each to Da Nang from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City every day from Sept 7 to Sept 10. The carrier has said in a statement that the frequency of flights to the city from Sept 11 onwards will be announced later, depending on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The low cost carriers Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air have also resumed domestic flight services to and from Da Nang from Monday (Sept 8).

Vietjet Air is operating a daily return flight each on the Da Nang-Hanoi and Da Nang-Ho Chi Minh City routes. The carrier has implemented the rule of filling out a mandatory health declaration and installing contact tracking app Bluezone on their mobile.

Vietjet Air is also offering special ticket promotions for all domestic routes within Vietnam, with fares starting from VND 10,000. The last date of promotion is till September 12 and available on official website www.vietjetair.com and Vietjet Air mobile app. The travel period is valid from October 10, 2020 to August 31, 2021.

However, all passengers are required to follow the implemented social distancing measures on the plane to limit the risk of infection. They have to wear face masks during the entire journey. All crew members and technicians will wear protective equipment onboard the flight.

The move was carried out in accordance with instructions issued by the Ministry of Transport on Sunday (Sept 6). These instructions allowed the resumption of public transport services to and from Da Nang from Sept 7 as the Vietnam’s center city has basically controlled the pandemic.

Da Nang city is a well-known tourist destination with a large population of 1.1 million. Before the second wave started in Da Nang on July 25, there were 20 daily flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Da Nang city has recorded a total of 389 COVID-19 positive cases since July 25, making it the country’s largest COVID-19 hotspot. Starting from July 28, operations of flights, buses and trains to and from the city had been stopped.

Airlines were hoping for higher summer revenues but it was dashed with the second wave of COVID-19 community transmission after 90 days and plunged in travel demand.

Between July 19 and August 18, the country’s five airlines operated only 16,400 flights, a decrease of 46 per cent from the same period last year, despite the traditional strong demand to travel for holidays during this period.