Hanoi, 25 March 2020 - On the morning of the 25th of March, Flight VN36 from Frankfurt (Germany) to Hanoi landed safely at Van Don International Airport, temporarily suspending the operation of Vietnam Airlines international flight network until the end of April 2019. The airline will turn its focus on the operation of domestic routes and enhance preventive measures to ensure the health and safety of its passengers and employees.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began in China and spread to Europe, becoming a global pandemic, Vietnam Airlines - the national flag carrier - has taken a number of preventive measures to ensure the safety of its passengers and employees, such as providing the flight crew with personal protective equipment, adjusting in-flight service standards, disinfecting aircraft, and reducing the frequency of flights, but still has maintained its role of an economic, social, and diplomatic bridge connecting Vietnam and the world.
From now until the end of April 2020, Vietnam Airlines will focus on operating domestic routes to meet the passengers’ traveling demand and transport goods for customers’ needs, with safety being the top priority.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines is the only airline in Vietnam to disinfect all aircraft operated during the day. As from 0:00 am on the 25th of March, after the landing of each flight in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Airlines will disinfect and clean the entire aircraft. In addition, all aircraft fleets operated during the day will be disinfected once more by the end of the day and soak overnight to maximise its effect. Despite the suspension of  international routes, Vietnam Airlines still implements other preventive measures, such as performing health checks for passengers at the airport, refusing to carry passengers showing signs of COVID-19 infection, and arranging seats which are spaced apart from one another (based on the availability of rows of empty seats).
Despite the complex and unpredictable developments of COVID-19 around the world, Vietnam Airlines is always ready to conduct the tasks assigned by the Government and perform the mission of the national flag carrier to help combat against the pandemic.