The Vietnamese Government always creates all favourable conditions for airlines, both state-owned and private, to develop and compete healthily, and encourages Australian carriers to fly to Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated at a ceremony to mark 30 years of Vietnam – Australia direct air route in Melbourne city on March 5 morning.

The PM attended the event as part of activities in his trip to attend the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit, and his official visit to the country.

The Vietnamese Government leader emphasised the important role of air transport in current economic development, stating that Vietnam has had policies to develop airlines.
He expressed his hope that Vietnam's airlines will cooperate and compete fairly, especially in the current context - when the two countries will upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Currently, Vietnamese airlines do not use domestically trained pilots, engineers, and mechanics, so he hoped Australia to support the training of pilots, mechanics, aviation managers.

He also urged Australian banks, investment funds, and investors to invest indirectly in Vietnamese airlines, saying that the Vietnamese ministries and sectors will strengthen their role in state management, remove difficulties, and proactively support airlines to overcome challenges and promote rapid and sustainable development.

The PM took the occasion to thank Australia, specifically Australian citizens who choose Vietnamese airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, to visit Vietnam, saying that this has contributed to boosting cultural connections and aviation economic development of the two countries.

He expressed his belief that Vietnam Airlines will reap more achievements in the next 30 years thanks to the foundations for development laid over the past time.

In the early 90s of the last century, Vietnam Airlines launched a direct air route to Australia with irregular flights each month between Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney and Melbourne.

In the following years, the national flag carrier opened more regular direct flights to the country and continuously increased flight frequency. So far, the firm operates 23 flights per week on five routes from Hanoi and HCM City to Melbourne; Hanoi and HCM City to Sydney, and HCM City to  Perth. Over the last three decades, Vietnam Airlines operated more than 12,800 flights, transported 6 million passengers and nearly 170,000 tonnes of goods.

According to Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines Dang Ngoc Hoa, since the early 90s, Vietnam Airlines has promoted opportunities for cooperation in the aviation field, acting as a bridge for two-way trade, investment, and tourism development between the two countries. The airline has continuously increased frequency and expanded flight network to new destinations to perfect the flight network between the two countries and maintain its position as a key airline connecting Vietnam and Australia.

Vietnam Airlines has been strengthening cooperation with partners in Australia to develop products and diversify services, thereby continuously bringing benefits to passengers. It has paid attention to coordinating with agencies, travel companies and Australian partners to strengthen tourism promotion and promote destinations of both countries./.VNA