Vietnam studies travel corridors
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport confirms it will consider reopening of international airline routes to countries and territories that have no local community cases of Covid-19 for 30 consecutive days, according to a ministry official.
Vietnam News Agency reported that Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries are prime targets.
They are similar to countries that Thailand lists, which also hopes to establish travel corridors, but it set 60 days free of local Covid-19 cases as the precondition.
The resumption of international flights to and from Vietnam should begin in earnest by 31 July, according to a proposal prepared by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
Currently, repatriation flights allow Vietnamese living overseas to return home. Vietnam Airlines provides flights for Vietnamese to and from South Korea for work and study, selling just one-way fares.
If international flights resume by the end of July, airlines will need to comply with daily limits on passengers while restrictions on visitor categories eligible to enter Vietnam will remain in place. At the moment, Vietnam is not issuing visas to foreigners. That service would need to resume first.
Transit passengers will not be allowed to enter the country. Passengers would be required to have stayed in one country for at least 30 consecutive days before flying to Vietnam. They must show negative coronavirus certificates valid within three days of the scheduled flight date.
Also, passengers must undergo a PCR swab test at the arrival terminal in Vietnam and pay the laboratory test fees. Passengers must stay at locations determined by local People’s committees for 14 days, for which they have to pay a fee accommodation and meal costs.
Vietnam is considering the “travel bubble” trave corridor involving two countries as an attractive option to eliminate the need to quarantine. People living in either country can travel freely by road, sea and air transport and are not required to comply with quarantine requirements.
TTR Weekly with Vietnamese News Agency – July 3, 2020