Coronavirus Outbreak: Vietnam suspends flights from South Korea

Beijing : Major airports in Vietnam have suspended flight operations to South Korea amid coronavirus outbreak, announced the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAV).

The Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City have suspended flights carrying passengers from the Republic of Korea (RoK) due to the complicated developments of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as from March 1, said the Civil Aviation Administration.

These flights will now land at Van Don (Quang Ninh province) and Can Tho international airports.

Meanwhile, the flights which carry goods are allowed to land at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports as scheduled.

Earlier, the Ministry of Transport had instructed the CAV to direct airlines to divert flights from epidemic areas of South Korea to land at Van Don, Phu Cat, and Can Tho airports.

The airlines have been given the responsibility to notify their passengers travelling from RoK to Vietnam to fill a health declaration form under a mandatory condition that they will have to spend 14-day quarantine after they reach Vietnam.

According to the CAV, the number of passengers from South Korea to Vietnam has increased manifold over the past few days.

On February 28, it issued an urgent notice to domestic and foreign airlines operating flights to/from Vietnam, Vietnam Airport Corporation (ACV), Van Don International Airport, northern, central and southern airport authorities on the suspension of visa exemption for RoK nationals.

Till last information, Vietnam had 16 confirmed cases on Coronavirus and since February 13 there had not been a single new such case.