Vietnam Airlines ready to pioneer vaccine passports

Amid the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic causing a downturn in the industry and various vaccination campaigns being deployed on a large scale throughout many countries, a "vaccine passport" is set to applied by a number of nations and is being proposed for research and testing domestically.

This solution has been given great support from many local and global agencies and firms who hope to promote trade exchange and boost economic development on the basis of ensuring safety, whilst preventing and controlling the potential spread of the virus.

Vietnam Airlines is an air carrier which is responsible for the transportation of passengers and goods to and from the country, while also ensuring the highest level of safety for both passengers and crew members to minimise the risk of infection hitting the community.

Through experience in serving many international flights during the course of the pandemic and leading the local aviation industry in pandemic prevention and control, Vietnam Airlines is ready to co-operate alongside relevant agencies. This can be done by researching, building, and testing the "vaccine passport" scheme as part of the roadmap to gradually restore the international flight network.

During the period when regular international flights were suspended, the national flag carrier maintained regular operations of the international network through conducting repatriation flights aimed at returning Vietnamese citizens home, whilst also transporting goods and passengers abroad.

Simultaneously, Vietnam Airlines has been closely monitoring pandemic developments and closely following the market in order to devise a scheme aimed at restarting an appropriate international flight network. For each respective market, the airline has arranged a dedicated team which will monitor and develop operational plans so they are ready to schedule flights, open ticket sales, and serve additional passengers as soon as it is agreed by competent agencies.

At present, international flights are being conducted by Vietnam Airlines in line with pandemic prevention and control measures at level four, the highest level in the airline's disease safety system.

The measures taken by Vietnam Airlines aim to ensure a pandemic safety level higher than the standards set by the Global Aviation Alliance SkyTeam, equivalent to four out of five stars of the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, and ranked seven out of seven stars, according to AirlineRatings.

These experiences and capabilities are an important condition for the airline and functional agencies as they research and test the "vaccine passport" scheme in an effective manner. It is hoped that the implementation of the plan will lead to the safe resumption of international routes as a way of meeting travel demand of passengers and contributing to the redevelopment of the national economy and tourism.