Minister for Trade and Investment of Victoria State in Australia Tim Pallas has announced Vietnamese carrier Vietjet’s decision to choose Melbourne as the destination for its first flights to Australia and as the location to establish its office.

Pallas said the presence of a carrier from Southeast Asia is a victory for Victoria's economy and brings job opportunities to the locality, reflecting the state’s tourism and export strengths.

Vietjet will run three direct weekly flights from HCM City to Melbourne from April and will develop it into a daily service from December 2024. Its flights are expected to bring more than 136,000 passengers to Melbourne each year and add US$97 million annually to the state's economy.

Vietjet will be the second Vietnamese airline to operate flights to Melbourne since after the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Viet Nam's new-generation Bamboo Airways also launched the service in April 2022.

Victoria State is also a popular tourist and study destination for Vietnamese. About 9,500 Vietnamese students are currently studying at its educational institutions. Before the pandemic, about 53,500 Vietnamese visitors arrived in Victoria, or nearly half of all Vietnamese arrivals in Australia in 2019. — VNS