The ceremony to launch the direct air route in Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Friday attended a ceremony to announce the first direct air route between Việt Nam's capital city of Hà Nội and Japan's Hiroshima Prefecture.

As the eighth route connecting Việt Nam and Japan operated by low-cost airline Vietjet, the Hà Nội-Hiroshima route will start serving passengers from July 19 with two round-trip flights per week on Wednesdays and Sundays. Vietjet currently runs direct flights from Hà Nội and HCM City to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Niigata, Shizuoka, and Fukushima. The budget carrier has increased the number of round-trip flights between the two countries to 58 per week.

Vietjet CEO Đinh Việt Phương said that as a member of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) – the largest comprehensive economic organisation in Japan, the carrier is committed to continuing to expand its flight network to Japan, offering many opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation with many convenient flight options.

This year, Vietjet plans to supply more than 1.5 million seats between the two countries, connecting Japan's tourism and economic centres with attractive destinations across Việt Nam.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Phạm Quang Hiệu said that Vietjet's opening of the first direct route from Việt Nam to Hiroshima opens up more opportunities for collaboration in investment, trade, tourism, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Việt Nam and Japan in general and Hiroshima prefecture in particular. The event is of special importance as the two countries are organising many activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Governor of Hiroshima prefecture Masahiko Tanabe said with the new direct air route, the cooperation between Hiroshima and Việt Nam is expected to further develop in many fields, including business, commerce, and tourism. — VNS