The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed that the Ministry of Transport allow the increase of daily flight frequency between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and reopen other domestic flight routes after the end of the current social distancing period.

CAAV said the proposal was made based on its assessment of people’s travel needs, as well as Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s conclusions drawn from a government meeting on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prevention and control.

The administration suggested increasing the flight frequency between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from six to 20 flights per day.

On this route, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and low-cost airline Vietjet will each operate six flight a day, while budget carrier Jetstar Pacific and newcomer Bamboo Airways will each fly four trips a day.

On flight routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang and vice versa, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet will each carry out three flights a day, while Jetstar and Bamboo Airways will each operate two trips on a daily basis.

On flight routes connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with other localities, each of the four carriers will operate one flight daily.

The same flight frequency is proposed for journeys between localities other than Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

For the Ho Chi Minh City-Con Dao route, there will be four flights a day.

VASCO, a subsidiary of Vietnam Airlines, is currently the only carrier flying on this route between the southern metropolis and the islands off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The plan is intended to be implemented from Thursday, April 23, until the end of April 30.

The CAAV requests all units in the aviation industry to continue implementing preventive measures, including arranging passengers on the same row on at least one seat away from one another on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route.

Passengers have to maintain a minimum distance of two meters from one another when queuing up for procedures at airports’ terminals.

All crew members and passengers must have their body temperature checked before each flight.

All passengers must wear a face mask during flights.

According to the CAAV, 34,427 passengers traveled by plane between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang — the only domestic routes allowed to remain in operation since April — from April 1 to 20.

Vietnam went into 15 days of nationwide social distancing from April 1 to 15 in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19.

After this period, 28 provinces and cities in the country have continued upholding social distancing measures until at least the end of April 22.

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang are among these 28 localities.

During the enhanced social distancing period, only a handful of flights and trains remain in operation between key destinations, including the three cities.

Vietnam has confirmed 268 COVID-19 cases in total, with 222 having recovered, accounting for nearly 83 percent of the tally.

Six patients were discharged from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on Wednesday afternoon, with 14 more expected to be released later the same day.

The country has yet to record a death from the disease.

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