Experts from South Korea disembark a flight which landed at Van Don Airport last week. — VNA/VNS Photo

Commercial flights at the Quang Ninh Province-based Van Don International Airport will resume starting from May 4, after an unexpected hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Daily flights on the Van Don-HCM City route will be offered by budget carrier Vietjet, while four weekly flights on the route will be provided by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines from May 16 and Bamboo Airways is to operate daily flight on the route from June 1.

Vietnam Airlines will also operate three flights linking Van Don and Da Nang per week from May 16.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the airport has been one of the few in the country to receive 36 flights from pandemic-hit areas with nearly 5,600 passengers.

Van Don Airport Director Pham Ngoc Sau said the airport will co-ordinate closely with Quang Ninh authorities in implementing tourism promotion campaigns and flight expansion so that the airport can become an important gateway to connect and speed up socio-economic development of the province, the northeast region and the whole country.

The airport is striving to add flights connecting Van Don with Phu Quoc and Nha Trang in the third quarter this year while expecting to receive charter flights to Van Don from China and South Korea from this year’s third quarter right after these countries allow international air services.

Adding international flights is expected to contribute to the plan to attract tourists to Quang Ninh, with the province targeting 15 to 16 million visitors – including seven million foreign visitors – by 2020.

The airport has a capacity of receiving 2.5 million passengers per year and is expected to expand to a capacity of welcoming five million passengers per year by 2030. — VNS