Vietjet, a Vietnamese airline, has announced a first-ever direct flight route from Kerala to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from August 12. The announcement came days after Vietnamese Ambassador, Nguyen Thanh Hai, met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on July 5 and promised to start a direct flight service between Ho Chi Minh City and Kochi.
Airline authorities said the Kochi- Ho Chi Minh City route will be operated with a frequency of four flights per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
After CM Vijayan's meeting with the Vietnamese Ambassador nearly a week ago, he said, in a tweet that the direct flight service would enhance ties between Kerala and Vietnam and also boost the state’s tourism and development.
Speaking at an event held here last week announcing the launch of the new route from Kochi, the Vietnamese Ambassador to India had termed the opening of the route connecting Kochi and Ho Chi Minh City by Vietjet as a breakthrough, creating a new impetus for economic-trade-tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between Vietnam and South India.
"With the favourable geographical location of Ho Chi Minh City in particular, and Vietnam in general, visitors will easily explore destinations across Vietnam as well as from Vietnam to other countries and regions around the world," Hai said in the release.
Vietjet flights are currently operating from Mumbai, New Delhi, and Ahmedabad, connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The airline said in the first five months of this year, 1,41,000 passengers from India visited Vietnam, and it is expected to reach 5,00,000 visitors this year.
(With inputs from agencies)
