Flight VN 593 of Vietnam Airlines departed from Hong Kong (China) to Hanoi on December 11 afternoon, marking the first regular flight between the two sides after nearly 3 years of interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially, the national flag carrier will re-operate the route with a frequency of three round-trip flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays.

Vietnam Airlines is the first Vietnamese carrier to reopen regular commercial flights with Hong Kong.

Ngo Tri Hung, chief of the airline’s branch in Hong Kong, said that it will consider increasing the frequency of flights when Hong Kong's pandemic prevention and control policies are loosened further.

Vietnam Airlines' return flights between Hong Kong and Hanoi were suspended from February 6, 2020, due to Hong Kong's strict COVID-19 prevention and control policy.

In March this year, the carrier resumed flights from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, and increased the frequency in late November./.