Bamboo Airways has launched the first direct air service between HCM City and Dien Bien Province, with the maiden flight arriving in the northern province on Friday.

The flight took 2:20 hours rather than the nine hours it takes in case of connecting flights.

The carrier plans to operate five flights per week, ramping up the frequency based on demand.

Le Thanh Do, chairman of the Dien Bien People’s Committee, said the direct flights would strengthen links with the city and other places in the southern key economic region, and attract more domestic and foreign visitors to his province.

Nguyen Ngoc Trong, deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, said the carrier is considering other direct routes between Dien Bien and Hai Phong, Vinh and Da Nang, and hopefully starts them in 2022.

This month the Ministry of Transport plans to expand and upgrade Dien Bien airport to increase its capacity to 500,000 passengers a year and large aircraft such as Airbus A320s and A321s.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) will undertake the work at an estimated VND1,5 trillion (US$67 million). — VNS