The Ministry of Transport has submitted to the Prime Minister a three-phase plan to resume international commercial flights starting from early 2022.
Foreign travellers are to meet certain conditions when they fly to Vietnam, starting in 2022.
Vietnam has closed its skies to air travel since late April 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) under the Ministry of Transport proposed restoring regular international air routes under four phases, starting in the fourth quarter of 2021.
According to the latest plan, the Ministry of Transport has crossed out the CAAV’s first phase and kept the three other phases unchanged.
It is worthy of note that in the first phase passengers are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 within six months. They must prove that they have already paid 7-day quarantine costs at a designated isolation facility (hotel) in Vietnam.
Passengers that are not fully vaccinated are required to undergo 14-day isolation and have a confirmation that they have already paid isolation costs at a designated isolation facility in Vietnam.
A ‘vaccine passport’ model will be applied in the second phase, starting in the second quarter of 2022. Passengers having a ‘vaccine passport’ or a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 within six months will be required to self-isolate at the place of residence instead of a designated isolation facility. The expected time for self-isolation will be between 3 - 7 days according to the guidance from the Ministry of Health.
Other cases will undergo 14-day quarantine at a designated isolation facility and have a confirmation that they have already paid isolation costs.
In the third phase, passengers may not be required to show their vaccine passport or self-isolate if herd immunity is achieved in Vietnam. This will also depend on the results of negotiations on mutual recognition of ‘vaccine passports between Vietnam and other countries.
Vietnam is set to resume flights to 15 countries and territories in the first phase and expand destinations later. The first 15 countries and territories are China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, France, Germany, Russia, Australia, Laos, Cambodia, and the United Kingdom.
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