Vietnam Airlines is to change its operation plan for flights from and to airports in Taipei and Kaohsiung of Taiwan during July 10-11 for safety reasons as Typhoon Maria is forecast to hit the region on July 10.

Specifically, the national flag carrier will cancel four flights, the VN578 and VN570 on July 10, and the VN571 and VN579 on July 11 on the Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City-Taipei routes.

Departure times will be delayed for flights on Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City-Kaohsiung routes, including the VN586 and VN580 on July 10, and VN581 and VN587 on July 11.

Vietnam Airlines will also implement its plan to operate flights to redeem the cancelled flights on July 11.

At the same time, the carrier will use Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 on flights between Vietnam and Taipei on July 11 instead of Airbus A320 so as to supply more seats to passengers.

Affected passengers will be supported in changing their flights, and those who are in transit in Taipei and Kaohsiung will be assisted in adjusting their plans.

According to local weather officials in Taiwan, Typhoon Maria is expected to make landfall late on July 10, hitting Taiwan's northern region the hardest, as it moves in a west-northwesterly direction at 30kph (19mph), from its location 490km (305 miles) east of Yilan County.

Vietnam Airlines will continue to keep a close watch on the weather developments, advising passengers who wish to travel to and from Taipei and Kaohsiung to check information updates regularly.

Detailed flight information for Vietnam Airlines is available on its website www.vietnamairlines.com or on its Facebook account at www.facebook/VietnamAirlines. Customers can also contact ticket agents of the carrier across the country or call its customer service hotline at 19001100.

Vietnam Airlines typically operates around 90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations, with more than 400 flights each day. -VNA