HCMC – Local carrier Bamboo Airways last weekend announced the suspension of flights to and from Dien Bien Phu airport in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien, citing serious photochemical smog in the area as the main reason.
According to the national weather center, between April 10 and 17, photochemical smog plus the plant-derived smoke in the crop season from Laos could hit the northwestern part of Vietnam, thus reducing visibility and seriously affecting travel.
“The current visibility at the airport is extremely low at around 2,000 meters, below the standard level of 4,200 meters. This has affected the landing and takeoff of flights at the airport, including those operated by Bamboo Airways,” the carrier stated in its announcement released on April 10.
Accordingly, flights between Hanoi and Dien Bien will be grounded until the weather conditions get better. Flights linking HCMC and Dien Bien will be diverted to the Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport to ensure flight safety.
In related news, Vietjet Air, another local airline, has resumed air services on 10 routes linking the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho with 10 destinations at home and abroad, including Nha Trang, Dalat, Taipei in Taiwan and Seoul in South Korea.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, vice chairman at Vietjet, said Vietjet launched its air service to Can Tho in 2015. To date, the low-cost carrier has served over six million passengers traveling to and from the city.
After the latest coronavirus wave was brought under control, Vietjet resumed operations with 270 daily flights, compared to the pre-pandemic level of 400 daily flights to and from 156 foreign and domestic destinations. It is expected to resume all air routes by this summer.
