United States-Vietnam civil aviation are in touch to establish direct flights between the two countries this year, most likely in the coming weeks.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected soon recognize its Vietnamese counterpart in Category I, which will allow it to take that step, officials said Monday in Hanoi.
According to local media, tourists, businessmen and others interested in traveling from one country to another have, so far, to stop in China, Japan or other Asian nations, but the growing flow of passengers already advised some time ago to establish a direct route.
The two Vietnamese companies willing to cover the route are the newly created Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines.
The latter asked the United States in 2004 for permission to provide direct services, but the request was denied because the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration did not yet meet the FAA’s safety oversight requirements.
Air traffic in Vietnam increased to an annual average of 16 percent from 2010 to 2017, and in 2018 its airports welcomed more than 100 million passengers.