The first direct flight from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to Bangkok, Thailand, took off from Can Tho International Airport on Tuesday morning, carrying 179 passengers.

The service will serve increasing travel demands during summer.

The next eight direct flights on the Can Tho-Bangkok route are scheduled for July 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25 and 29.

A return ticket on the route is being sold for VND4.8 million (US$211.2), while the five-day and four-night Thailand holiday package, including air tickets, is currently being offered at VND6.99 million ($307.56).

Tran Tuong Huy, director general of WorldTrans – the route’s operator, said the opening of the direct service is a breakthrough in air travel in the Mekong Delta, adding that he expected it would open new opportunities for the tourism industry in the two cities of Can Tho and Bangkok.

With this service, people from Can Tho and the Mekong Delta in general will no longer have to travel to HCM City by bus or car to take flights to Bangkok.

The Can Tho International Airport operates regular flights to some of Viet Nam’s popular destinations, such as Ha Noi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Con Dao, while it occasionally, mostly during the Tet holiday, serves international flights to Taiwan.

WorldTrans plans to open more routes from Can Tho to other Asian nations in the future to meet the local rising demand. – VNS