Closer to goal of opening direct flights to the US

This information was confirmed by Le Tuan Anh, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Transport.

Specifically, according to Mr. Tuan Anh, the plan to open a direct flight from Vietnam to the US is being actively implemented by the Vietnamese aviation authorities and Vietnam Airlines and will soon be realized. On behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Mr. Luu Van Doan, Head of the International Cooperation Department, also said that this agency is focusing on working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Aviation Safety Inspectorate in Vietnam in the ICAO's global aviation safety assessment program. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is also actively preparing for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety supervision capacity assessment in the third quarter of this year to help the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam achieve FAA's Category 1 (CAT 1) aviation safety approval.

Actively deploy direct flights to the US

It should be emphasized that the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam's CAT 1 approval is considered a premise and prerequisite for domestic airlines to open direct flights to the United States, instead of having to transit in a third country as is currently the case.

However, in order to open a direct flight route to the US, the airline's national aviation authority must meet the aviation supervision standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as the FAA's aviation safety regulations.

“Currently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has not yet achieved level 1 of the FAA’s safety standards, so airlines cannot open flights to the United States,” said Lai Xuan Thanh, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, adding that the sufficient condition is that airlines must have a business plan, prepare human resources, and material resources for opening flights.

“Of course, when flying to a country, airlines must fully comply with the aviation safety and security regulations of that country. However, this is not a technical barrier but a regulation that airlines must comply with,” Mr. Thanh added.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, there are currently 52 foreign airlines from 25 countries and territories operating flights to and from Vietnam with 81 routes from 48 destinations to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Nha Trang. Meanwhile, Vietnamese airlines also have more than 70 international routes connecting to 30 cities in 16 countries and territories.

According to Traffic