Vietnam Airlines suspends carrying passengers from Europe to Vietnam
National carrier Vietnam Airlines will stop carrying passengers from London, Paris and Frankfurt to Vietnam from Sunday onwards as a Covid-19 prevention measure.
The move came after the Vietnamese government suspended entry for visitors coming from or going through the U.K. and Schengen countries in the previous 14 days, with Europe emerging as the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vietnam Airlines also worked with local authorities to divert flights from London, Paris and Frankfurt on Saturday to Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh Province and Can Tho Airport in southern Vietnam, with all passengers onboard to be placed in quarantine after landing.
However, the carrier’s flights from Vietnam to Europe will still continue to carry passengers back to their home countries.
The only carrier in Vietnam with direct flights to European countries like England, Germany and France, Vietnam Airlines is set to reduce the number of weekly flights from Hanoi and Saigon to the continent by 14, starting March 25.
Vietnam has recorded 37 new active cases over the past week, raising the country’s total Covid-19 infections to 53. All the previous 16 patients had been discharged from hospitals by February 26.
The Covid-19 outbreak has thus far spread to 145 countries and territories around the world, with the death toll climbing to over 5,400.
By Nguyen Quy – VnExpress.net – March 14, 2020