A new air route from the northern province of Quang Ninh to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will be officially launched on April 25, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh provincial Department of Tourism Trinh Xuan Thanh announced.

The service aims to promote trade, economy and tourism between two localities, which are also key economic regions.

The route will see three weekly flights that take two hours and 20 minutes.

Flights are scheduled to depart from Tra Noc Airport in Can Tho at 6am and land at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh at 8:20am and the return leg will be at 8:55am from Van Don and arrive at Tra Noc at 11:10am.

Tra Noc and Van Don international airports have a designed capacity of three million passengers annually. However, the operation of these two airports is now under 50 per cent of that level.

Can Tho is the centre of the Mekong Delta, a gateway to the rich southwest region with many typical cultural and economic features. Quang Ninh is also the leading development province in the northeast economic region and housing the world natural heritage of Ha Long Bay and other famous tourist hotspots such as the Yen Tu Complex of Monuments and Landscapes and Bai Tu Long Bay.

The connection between the two airports, along with the upcoming waterway route between Can Tho and Van Ninh ports, will promote the expansion of the logistics system.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam has licensed Vietjet Air to open routes to Can Tho’s Tra Noc and Quang Ninh’s Van Don. The first flight from Van Don to Can Tho served 100 passengers and 40 passengers on the return way. — VNS