Vietnam airports required to tighten Covid-19 prevention measures

Nhat Minh - Quy Nguyen 18:34, 2020/05/26

Local airports are required to keep applying safety protocol against Covid-19 as the pandemic has not been radically wiped out.

Vietnam’s aviation authorities have requested airports to abide by the instructions of the prime minister and relevant agencies on Covid-19 prevention and control, especially the protocol on safety operation of airports.

The airports that are designated to receive flights carrying returning overseas Vietnamese, including Van Don, Can Tho, Danang, Cam Ranh are requested to maintain the protocol on cross-infection prevention.

Vietnam's airports have to comply with safety measures instructed by the Health Ministry.

Airports' staff have to comply with safety measures instructed by the Ministry of Health, including wearing face masks while on duty, washing hands with antiseptic solution, having their body temperature checked, and disinfecting surfaces, among others.

Vietnam has been repatriating its citizens worldwide at the prime minister’s order. The repatriation is based on the evolution of the pandemic and the country’s capacity to quarantine the returnees. The government also plans a roadmap for safe repatriation of Vietnamese citizens stranded abroad due to Covid-19.

Until now, Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, and Vietjet Air have conducted commercial flights to bring nearly 4,000 Vietnamese citizens home. All passengers underwent heath checks and were placed in quarantine upon arrival in different parts of Vietnam.

Earlier, the Vietnamese government is considering reopening to foreign tourists as the country and the world enter a new normalcy driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting on May 24.

Meanwhile, the tourism industry is making efforts to boost the demand of domestic travelers in order to revive the whole tourism industry. Local airlines have also increased their domestic flight routes as well as opened new routes to meet the domestic demand.

In the context of the pandemic, welcoming back foreign tourists should be prepared with a focus on the safety of tourists, local insiders said.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism is also considering mutual validation of health standards with other well-controlled markets to facilitate international arrivals in Vietnam.

The VNAT is anticipating the recovery and disease control of some markets such as South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan (China) and within ASEAN and preparing plan to welcome tourists from those markets.