A security employee at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi checks the body temperature of air passengers. Airlines have been asked to transport no more than 1,700 passengers per day on each direction of the HCMC-Hanoi route from 0 a.m. on July 9 - PHOTO: NLDO

HCMC – Airlines have been asked to transport no more than 1,700 passengers per day on each direction of the HCMC-Hanoi route from 0 a.m. on July 9, compared to some 4,000 passengers daily in the last few days, said a leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

The requirement was part of the social distancing measures applied in the city from July 9 to 23, the local media reported.

Vietnam Airlines was allowed to offer 700 tickets per day, Pacific Airlines, 200 and Bamboo Airways and Vietjet, 400 each. If they provide more tickets, CAAV will not allow them to continue offering services.

The requirement is aimed at controlling the number of HCMC passengers flying to other localities and ensuring social distancing at airports, the CAAV representative said.

Meanwhile, the frequency of one to two flights between HCMC and the Phu Cat Airport in Binh Dinh, the Buon Ma Thuot Airport in Daklak, the Lien Khuong Airport in Lam Dong, the Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa and the Danang Airport in the city of the same name has been maintained.

All passengers on flights from/to HCMC must have valid negative Covid-19 test certificates.

There are seven air routes from HCMC to other localities with 23 daily flights in each direction, down 12 routes compared with the pre-pandemic period.

Over the past few days, airlines have operated 13 flights with some 4,000 passengers per day on the HCMC-Hanoi route.

Many northern localities have suspended air routes to HCMC, such as Haiphong and Quang Ninh. The HCMC-Hanoi air route is now the only air route to connect the north and the south.