This comes after local airlines had previously proposed conducting commercial flights in an effort to bring home Vietnamese nationals from the three destinations between December 1 and January 15 as they represent the country’s largest labour export markets.

The scheme had recently been sent to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consultation. As a result, the CAAV had yet to grant licenses for these flights.

According to Vo Huy Cuong, deputy chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), if the plan was to gain approval, the CAAV would officially grant licenses for these flights in which passengers would pay for a combo package. This would cover all relevant expenses, including airfares, quarantine fees at hotels, transportation from airports to hotels, three meals a day, and COVID-19 testing.

However, following PM Phuc’s order announcement, Cuong stated that the proposal will be temporarily suspended.

According to CAAV, roughly 30,000 Vietnamese nationals are keen to return home from Japan, along with 15,000 each from the RoK and Taiwan (China), three of the country’s largest labour markets.

The nation initially halted international commercial flights in early April in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, with flights yet to resume.

People are therefore seeking ways to return home and have contacted Vietnamese embassies abroad. A total of 10 repatriation flights per month are operating from these three destinations, with passengers due to be placed into quarantine at military-run isolation facilities upon arrival in the country. VOV

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