International tourists have documents checked after arriving at International Cam Ranh Airport. from the Republic of Korea in November. — VNA/VNS Photo

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh has requested ministries to urgently perform assigned tasks for a pilot plan that will resume international commercial flights on January 1, 2022.

Earlier, in a notice, the Deputy PM concluded that in line with the strategy of safe, flexible, and effective adaptation to COVID-19, the reopening was necessary to ease difficulties facing aviation firms, speed up economic recovery and help overseas Vietnamese to return home for the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Yea). However, effective control of the pandemic must be ensured.

Minh agreed with the plan, which restores regular international passenger flights to areas with a high safety rate: Beijing/Guangzhou (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), Taipei (China), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Vientiane (Laos), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and San Francisco/Los Angeles (USA). The plan follows the Ministry of Health’s pandemic prevention guidance for people on entry and begin on January 1 next year.

In preparation for the pilot, the Ministry of Health has been tasked with issuing medical guidelines for people entering the country on the international flights, and consulting with experts, businesses and the general public.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the health ministry will continue negotiating with other nations and territories on mutual recognition of “vaccine passports”.

The ministries of Health, Public Security, and Information and Communications, meanwhile, have been assigned to issue medical declaration software applicable to air travel to aid the declaration of passengers, operation of airlines, and the medical monitoring, control and tracing of people on entry.