Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnameseairlines have to temporarily postpone the resumption of air routes to Chinauntil late April or May to wait for China’s next decisions about the allowanceof its tourists to Vietnam, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

In mid-February, China announced thereopening of tours to 20 countries, excluding Vietnam, which is said tohave affected Vietnamese airlines’ flight plans.

Earlier, after China had liftedrestrictions on regular international flights on January 8, Vietnamese carriersmade plans on flights to this country, with a focus on passengers on businesstrips, those visiting relatives, and students studying abroad, so as to preparefor the recovery of bilateral tourism. The number of flights was expected to gradually increase from April.

However, due to China’s newpolicy, airlines of Vietnam have to temporarily postpone the resumption untillate April or May prior to the next decisions from China, according to theCAAV.

In 2019, before the COVID-19pandemic broke out, there were 14 airlines of Vietnam and China operating airroutes between the two countries.

Among them, 11 Chinese carriersoperated 32 air routes from 14 destinations in China to five in Vietnam, with atotal of 240 flights each way per week. Three Vietnamese carriers (VietnamAirlines, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, and Vietjet Air) operated 72 air routesfrom five destinations in Vietnam to 48 in China, with 421 flights per week intotal.

Carriers transported nearly 8 millionpassengers in 2019, including over 4.6 million passengers or more than 60% byVietnamese airlines. China was the second biggest foreign market of Vietnameseairlines, after the Republic of Korea, and most passengers were tourists, datafrom the CAAV show./.