At 11:05 on March 27, the first international commercial flight returned to Da Nang after Covid nearly 2 years, since the outbreak of Covid-19 in early April 2020.

Da Nang after Covid

Da Nang accorded its first international visitors on commercial flights in two years a special welcome with bouquets and a water cannon show.

The Wood family of four from Australia expressed surprised and happiness on receiving such a special welcome.

After a couple minutes of medical procedures, the mother took their twins out of the terminal, while the father wheeled off their luggage. They stopped for a few moments as the boys watched a lion dance show on the street.

“I am glad to be back in Da Nang after Covid-19 suspension,” Wood said, adding that the warm welcome had brightened her day.

The family has made bookings at a seaside resort and plan to stay there for several days.

“We will walk around Da Nang and Hoi An, go to the beach and enjoy lots of delicious meals,” she said.

Another passenger, Ben, from Spain, was visiting Da Nang for the first time with a friend.

“Everything’s easy when you travel to Vietnam now,” Ben said, adding that he would stay in Da Nang for three days before going to Hue.

At a ceremony to commemorate the resumption of international flights Sunday, Tran Phuoc Son, deputy chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, said the aviation and tourism industries have suffered greatly due to the pandemic and the disruption of international flights.

In 2019, before Covid-19 happened, the Da Nang International Airport received over 98,000 flights, with over 7.1 million international visitors and 8.4 million domestic travelers. The pandemic had cut down the number of flights in the past two years by over 80 percent and reduced revenues by over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
Da Nang received two international flights Sunday. Besides the SQ172 flights from Singapore, there was another flight from Thailand’s Bangkok. The flight from Singapore would arrive once a day, and the one from Bangkok three times a week, though flight frequencies might be adjusted as demand changes.

Da Nang after Covid

Vietnam had suspended international commercial flights since March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic raged around the world. It fully reopened international tourism starting March 15.