Due to the rising number of coronavirus cases, the Ministry of Transport has ordered domestic flight routes to be reduced.

Starting from today, March 30, each Vietnamese airline will be allowed to only operate one Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi trip per day, Thanh Nien reports. The one-flight-per-day rule will also be applied for routes connecting Hanoi and Da Nang; Phu Quoc and Hanoi; Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang; and Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City.

Flights from other provinces to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be temporarily suspended. These changes will be applied for 15 days. Caro flights will not be affected.

“In special cases when there is a need to transport passengers from local airports to Hanoi and HCMC and vice versa, airlines may ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam's permission in each specific case,” the ministry said.

Bamboo Airways has also announced that it has suspended all charter flights bringing overseas Vietnamese back to the country and minimized domestic flights from March 28 until April 15. Vietnam Airlines will reduce its domestic flight routes from 35 to eight in the same time period.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam is working with the airlines to make sure that passengers affected by the changes will be able to receive a refund or have their itinerary changed and flight validity extended without extra fees.

For flights that are still available, the national carrier said it is following numerous preventive measures, such as equipping its flight crews with medical protective gear, taking the body temperature of all passengers and staff, and requiring passengers to wear a mask throughout the trip and fill out a health declaration from before boarding. The airline will also refuse to transport people showing symptoms of COVID-19.

[Photo via Vietnam Airlines]