Flight attendant of Bamboo Airways.
Nguyen Ngoc Trong, deputy director of Bamboo Airways, said this was an important phase in their expansion plan. In the coming time, they will continue the procedure and will submit dossiers to the US Federal Aviation Administration, the US Transportation Security Administration and other US agencies.
All equipment has been prepared. The airlines are training pilots and staff and further complete the plan to meet requirements about security, aviation safety and legal issues. It is estimated that the total number of potential passengers for the direct route is 700,000 passengers a year.
"Depending on the Covid-19 development in the US, the route will be launched in late 2020 or early 2021," he said.
Vietnam and the US signed an aviation agreement in 2003 that allows each countries to operate one direct flight a day. In 2010, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam reviewed the agreement again and started the procedures to ask for permission to open the direct routes.
In 2019, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam gained the CAT-1 status by the FAA meaning Vietnam meets the International Civil Aviation Organization’s standards for personnel licensing, operations, and airworthiness. Afterwards, local airlines can submit their own dossiers to the FAA for review.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam praised Bamboo Airways for their achievement. The direct route will help tighten relations between the two countries.
