Passengers arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on a Vietnam Airlines flight that landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on January 1, 2022
In a proposal sent to the ministry on January 4, CAAV deputy director Dinh Viet Son said that they have received lots of complaints from Vietnamese and international airlines on challenges they are facing from the Covid-19 quick testing requirements before and after boarding the plane.
According to CAAV, some airlines said the requirement to make passengers from Omicron-hit countries be quick-tested as they get on and get off planes is too troublesome.
"Together with having the RT-PCR test result within 72 hours, passengers arriving in Vietnam are now having to take two more Covid-19 tests within a very short time", CAAV said. "Singapore Airlines has asked us to remove the quick testing requirement while reducing the RT-PCR validity from 72 hours to 48 hours before arrival."
VietJet Air also said it would also be costly for passengers, especially for those whose PCR test results are still valid. Besides, not all airports provide such services.
Cathay Pacific said that Tan Son Nhat Airport should follow Noi Bai Airport to collect the fees from passengers itself because it would be very difficult for airlines to do this work.
Sharing the same idea with Cathay Pacific, Turkish Airlines added that Tan Son Nhat Airport should waive the requirements for the crew members.
Therefore, CAAV proposed that airline passengers needn't take these quick tests as long as they have a negative RT-PCR test.
"If the quick tests continue to be done, airports should collect the costs from passengers instead of airlines," CAAV proposed.
Vietnam has so far resumed eight international flight routes to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Cambodia, the US, South Korea, Laos and Thailand.
Between January 1-4, there were around 17 flights from foreign countries entering Vietnam, carrying over 1,700 passengers. VietJet, Bamboo Airways and China Airlines paid the quick testing fees for passengers on their planes.