Due to the worrying escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic, many airlines have stopped certain flight routes connecting Vietnam to coronavirus-infected regions.

According to Thanh Nien, the country’s national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has announced it will suspend all international flights until April 30.

Before the announcement was made, the airline had stopped all flight routes connecting Vietnam with China, Hong Kong, Macao, South Korea, France, Russia, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Specifically, flight routes connecting Vietnam to other Southeast Asian countries will stop two-way operations on March 21. Round-trip flights to the UK and Japan will halt on March 23, while flights from Vietnam to Germany and Australia will be suspended starting March 24, and returning flights from the two countries will be suspended the following day.

The national flag carrier faces severe revenue losses due to the impact of the ongoing health crisis, which led it to find ways to cut costs by canceling flights and reducing salaries for its personnel, VnExpress reports.

Head of Vietnam Airlines' cabin crew division Phan Ngoc Linh told the news source that there are two options for cabin staff regarding their job — one is to take unpaid leave for one-three months, and another is to take at least one week of unpaid leave per month. Half of their flight attendants have chosen to take unpaid leave for three months starting from March.

In the meantime, Vietnam has seen more Covid-19 cases since our last update. On the evening of March 19, another nine cases were announced, bringing the total number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam to 85.

[Photo via Vietnam Airlines]