National Focus

Vietnam’s first airline suspends flights to South Korea over coronavirus concerns

By Ha Nhat February 26, 2020 | 01:00 PM GMT+7

Other Vietnam’s airlines are still maintaining some routes to South Korea but with lower flight frequency.

Bamboo Airways currently operates 14 round trips per week to South Korea.

Bamboo Airways has today suspended the operation of two routes Danang – Incheon and Nha Trang – Incheon due to coronavirus epidemic (Covid-19).

These routes have been operated by Bamboo Airways with a frequency of seven round trips per week per route by A321NEO with the capacity of 196 – 198 seats. Therefore, the operation suspension of these two routes is an extremely important and necessary action to actively contribute to preventing the spread of epidemic, the airlines said in a statement

Bamboo Airways will announce the cancellation as well as optimal options to assist passengers who have booked tickets during the operation suspension period of flights to Korea.

It recommends that all passengers, especially Vietnamese citizens or Korean visitors planning to come back to their hometown on Bamboo Airways’ flights, should proactively arrange the return schedule before the above-mentioned deadline.

The time to re-operate flights to South Korea will be announced until the epidemic is under control.

Bamboo Airways has become the first domestic airline to suspend flights to South Korea due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in the Northeast Asian country.

Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet are still maintaining some routes but with lower flight frequency due to a sharp decline in passenger volume since South Korea reported record spikes in the number of new coronavirus cases recently.

In a bid to control the spread of the virus that has claimed more than 2,600 people and 79,363 others contracted the deadly virus around the world, incoming travellers from South Korea shall have to fulfill compulsory health declaration form upon arrival at all border gates.

The Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department said Vietnamese citizens should not travel to the COVID-19 affected areas announced by the competent authorities of South Korea.They should regularly update and follow instructions provided by the host country’s authorities to keep them safe.

South Korea was Vietnam’s second-largest tourism market behind China, with 4.3 million visitors in 2019, up 23 per cent from a year earlier.

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