As Vietnam gains popularity among Indian travellers, the governments of India and Vietnam are in active discussions to increase the number of flights under the bilateral air service agreement for the metro cities.
“May be this year or next year, India and Vietnam may increase the bilateral flying rights between the two countries. Both governments are discussing it. The first step is to increase slots and open skies will take time,” Nguyen Trung Hieu, General Manager, Vietnam Airlines, told Mint.
The current bilateral air service agreement between India and Vietnam permit 28 weekly departures from metro cities. Vietnam Airlines and low-cost airline VietJet have already exhausted their share by operating 14 weekly departures each.
While the connectivity from metro cities will depend on increase in bilateral flying rights, Vietnam Airlines is studying the pool of non-metro cities with international status such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Lucknow to connect Tier-II cities in…