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Vietnam unveils plans for international travel
November 5th 2021
Vietnam has announced a phased plan to welcome back fully-vaccinated tourists without the need to quarantine. Read More » Five pilot destinations — Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh provinces, the city of Phu Quoc in Kien Giang province and the city of Da Nang — are included in the first phase of the strategy starting this month. According to an outline on the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam website, the pilot destinations will be able to take eligible tourists on packaged holidays arriving via charter or international commercial flights. Conditions include vaccine certificates recognised by Vietnamese authorities, taking a certified RT-PCR/RT-LAMP test 72 hours prior to departure and having US$50,000 in travel insurance. Tourists in the pilot plan will need to have their temperature regularly checked, self-test during the first seven days of arrival in Vietnam and use Vietnam’s IGOVN application during their stays. Phase two of the reopening, from January 2022, will allow airlines to operate four flights a week into Vietnam with services envisioned to be from lower-risk countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Germany, the UK and Australia to a wider number of Vietnamese destinations. Further relaxation of restrictions is planned for April and July next year. The easing comes into effect as Vietnam Airlines plans later this month to be the first Vietnamese airline to operate direct services to the U.S. The Vietnamese flag carrier said its security arrangements had received U.S. Transportation Security Administration approval on October 25. It said these were the most complex and important conditions foreign airlines needed to meet to service the U.S. The airline is now finalising approval with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration before a planned start to U.S. routes at the end of November. “Thus, after 20 years of preparation, Vietnam Airlines will become the first airline in Vietnam to operate a regular non-business route to the U.S. – the country with the strictest legal and aviation security barriers in the world,’’ the airline said.
