A Vietnam Airlines plane. The company has opened a direct route to connect Ha Noi and Macau (China). — VNA/VNS Photo

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has just launched its flights between Ha Noi and China’s Macau, with flight VN456 departing from Ha Noi at 19:45 on Monday, and VN459 leaving Macau at 8:35 on Tuesday (local time).

The new route has one return flight daily between the two destinations, with flights from Ha Noi departing at 19:45 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and at 4:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, flights from Macau depart at 23:50 every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and at 8:35 on the three other days of the week.

According to Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau Tran Thanh Huan, the new service will meet the increasing travel demand between the two destinations and promote trade connectivity, co-operation and exchange between the Greater Bay Area (including Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau) and Viet Nam.

“With this new air route, I believe that more people in Macau and the Greater Bay Area as a whole will have chances to explore Ha Noi, and seek investment opportunities in Viet Nam,” he said.

Huan noted remarkable progress in Viet Nam-Macau ties in recent years. Two-way trade reached US$82.4 million in 2018, up 40.2 per cent from the same time last year. The trade value was estimated at $73.2 million during January-October, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 per cent.

Currently, Macau is running 15 investment projects in Viet Nam with total registered capital of $151.6 million.

The newly launched route helps Vietnam Airlines increase its total services to China to 18, and facilitate travel to areas in vicinity of Macau like Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. — VNS