The CAAV proposes that if the 'travel bubble' plan is approved, foreign travellers arriving in Vietnam are required to abide by regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control

A ‘travel bubble’ is a ‘corona corridor’ or a ‘free travel zone’ between countries that have brought the novel coronavirus pandemic under control for 30 straight days.

The Vietnamese government, for the time being, has now permitted foreign specialists, business executives and highly skilled workers to come back and work in Vietnam, in an effort to reboot the economy. However, in its proposal, the CAAV wants the government to open the door for even foreign travelers from safe countries to resume tourism services, providing they meet certain conditions.

Accordingly, passengers should stay in a country in the corona corridor for at least 30 days before boarding a flight to Vietnam. Passengers who transit through a third country will not be accepted. Moreover, they should present an ‘immune passport’ – a certificate indicating they test negative for the virus three days before their flight.

Upon arrival in Vietnam, passengers will be required to undergo a quick test at the airport and will subsequently be quarantined for 14 days at a paying facility according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

According to CAAV director Dinh Viet Thang, several airlines of Taiwan (China) have proposed resuming flights to Vietnam, while local airlines are also ready to reopen international flights.

The CAAV recommended the Ministry of Transport report to the Prime Minister to consider the plan which it believes will help stimulate the hardest hit tourism market in the post coronavirus period.

At the June 24 Government meeting, the Prime Minister said Vietnam is not yet to reopen the door for foreign travelers to nip in the bud a possible recurrence of the virus.

He only proposed increasing the frequency of flights to bring investors, experts, skilled workers to Vietnam, as well as to send Vietnamese people abroad to work and study if they are allowed by that country.

Vietnam has brought the COVID-19 epidemic under control with no new locally transmitted infections detected for the past 74 consecutive days. VOV