Southern flights to Hanoi to be limited
Airports in the southern region which has applied social distancing rules are Tan Son Nhat, Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Rach Gia, Ca Mau and Con Dao airports. Flights to and from these airports have been mostly halted.
There is only one flight left on the Can Tho-Hanoi route and the Phu Quoc-Hanoi route. On the HCM City-Hanoi route, from July 9, Vietnam Airlines is allowed to serve a maximum of 1,700 passengers a day, Pacific Airlines has 200, Vietjet Air has 400 and Bamboo Airways has 400 passengers.
"However, the actual number of passengers never reached the cap. There are only 800-1,000 passengers a day from HCM City to Hanoi and 200-400 passengers a day from Hanoi to HCM City," Tuan said.
The Ministry of Transport then proposed two plans to adjust the number of flights on these routes. The first plan is to stop all flights on Can Tho-Hanoi and Phu Quoc-Hanoi routes. The number of passengers on the HCM City-Hanoi route will be reduced to 800 passengers a day.
According to the ministry, this plan will meet the travel demands of some passengers but will pose challenges to the authorities to mitigate the infection risks.
The second plan is to stop all flights on Can Tho-Hanoi and Phu Quoc-Hanoi routes. HCM City-Hanoi routes will be allowed to have two return flights a day. This way the number of passengers will be greatly reduced for better control but it will not meet the travel demands of many people.
"We suggested applying the second plan to bring the outbreak under control and prevent the virus from spreading," Tuan said.