HANOI, 25 August 2020: The jury is out on whether Vietnam should ease Covid-19 restrictions and allow international flights from low-risk countries to resume.
First reported by VN Express, the Vietnam Aviation Business Association called on the government to resume flights to countries that have contained the pandemic.
Vietnam has not resumed visa services, and restrictions on domestic travellers increased following the second wave of infections mainly in and around Danang in central Vietnam.
Deputy chairman of the association, Bui Doan Ne, told VN Express there was a high demand for travel to and from Guangzhou (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea).
The association is asking for a gradual resumption of airline services, possibly just three flights a week on one or two routes to assess the situation. Travellers would still need to quarantine for 14 days and pay for the daily expense of room, meals and Covid-19 tests.
A spokesperson for budget airline Vietjet said aviation companies had been the worst affected, and the government should allow regular services to restart to countries that have contained Covid-19.
But not everyone supports the move with VN Express quoting economist, Ngo Tri Long, who warned it might be too soon to resume flights. He pointed to the lack of strict control over illegal immigration and the Covid-19 resurgence in Danang, as well as a second wave, spike in South Korea a country previously considered low-risk. Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally now stands at 1,016 and 27 deaths.
