Vietnam lifts Covid-related international flight ban: what you need to know

The South-East Asian country is restoring flight capacity to pre-pandemic levels

Vietnam has lifted restrictions on international flights from February 15. Ruslan Baradash / Unsplash

Vietnam has lifted coronavirus restrictions on international flights for fully vaccinated passengers from Tuesday.

The country's aviation authority made the announcement on Monday.

“Vietnam will lift restrictions on international flights starting February 15. The frequency of flights will be restored to pre-pandemic level,” said state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre.

Commercial passenger flights can now arrive in Vietnam from any country for the first time since it sealed its borders in March 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 via air travel.

Dinh Viet Son, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, confirmed that partner destinations had been informed of the move and all had agreed to resume commercial flights, other than China.

South Korean tourists arrive at Phu Quoc International Airport, as the Vietnamese island welcomed its first international tourists following a Covid-19 vaccine passport scheme. AFP

Vietnam has remained tightly sealed off to most of the world since the onset of the global pandemic. However, this has severely hampered the South-East Asian nation's tourism economy.

In November, some tourists returned to the resort island of Phu Quoc under strictly controlled Covid-19 tourism pilot programmes.

Is Vietnam open for travel?

Shop houses along the riverfront in Hoi An, a Unesco World Heritage Site in Vietnam. Getty Images / Lonely Planet Images

In December, the nation eased entry restrictions for travellers from 15 destinations, including France, South Korea, the UK, the US and Germany, under coronavirus vaccine passport schemes. Travellers flying to Vietnam from one of the 15 approved countries must be fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test result.

Quarantine requirements were also eased, with vaccinated tourists only needing to self-isolate for three days instead of the previous 14 days.

But no updated travel rules for tourists coming from other international destinations have been published since the announcement. Vietnam previously said it would fully reopen to tourists in June this year.

Following Monday's announcement, the country is the latest South-East Asian country to begin to ease Covid-19 related travel restrictions.

In January, the Philippines announced it would reopen to vaccinated tourists in February and Malaysia is looking to fully reopen its borders next month to tourists who have been double-jabbed.

The world's top 20 safest low-cost airlines:

AirlineRatings.com has released its 2022 top 10 of the world's safest low-cost airlines. First on the alphabetical list is Air Arabia, the first budget carrier in the UAE.

A Thai Air Asia Airbus A320-200 plane at Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok. Reuters

Allegiant Air operates in the US and is North America's 14th biggest airline. AFP

An airBaltic Airbus A220-300 at Munich International Airport

Incident records, crash records and fleet age were among the factors used to compile the list. UK operator easyJet has 31 planes in a fleet that flies throughout Europe. AFP

flydubai operates to more than 90 destinations from its Dubai hub. Jeff Topping for The National

Colorado carrier Frontier Airlines flies to more than 100 US destinations and employs more than 3,000 staff. Getty

Jetstar Group, launched by Australia's flag carrier Qantas, has operated out of Melbourne since 2017. AFP

JetBlue, which has its headquarters in New York, is North America's seventh-biggest airline by passengers carried. AFP

An IndiGo Airlines aircraft in Ahmedabad, India. The low-cost carrier is the country's largest passenger airline. Reuters

Since its formation in 1984, Irish carrier Ryanair has grown to be one of the giants of low-cost travel, with a fleet of more than 400 and bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. AFP

Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary Scoot Airlines ranks in the top 20. Getty Images

Southwest is the world's largest low-cost airline. AP

India's SpiceJet flies to 64 destinations, including 52 domestic and 12 international routes. EPA

Spirit Airlines, one of the largest low-cost carriers in the US. Bloomberg

Vueling, Spain's largest airline, has hubs in Barcelona and Rome. AFP

VietJet Air flies to 46 destinations from Hanoi in Vietnam. AFP

Volaris Airlines is the second largest airline in Mexico after flag carrier Aeromexico and the main operator for domestic flights. AFP

Canada's WestJet airlines operates more than 700 North American flights a day, carrying more than 66,000 passengers. AFP

Wizz Air, a Hungarian airline that flies to 44 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and that has a subsidiary in the UAE, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, rounded the original top 10 list and is one of the world's safest budget airlines. AFP