A plane of Vietnam Airlines prepares to take off from Hải  Phòng's Cát Bi Airport to Phú Quốc on Friday morning. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — National carrier Vietnam Airlines on Friday launched seven new domestic routes connecting Vinh and Hải Phòng cities with other destinations in an effort to expand its domestic flight network.

The new flight routes included three from Vinh City to Phú Quốc, Cần Thơ and Nha Trang and four from Hải Phòng to Phú Quốc, Cần Thơ, Đà Lạt and Buôn Ma Thuột.

Lê Hồng Hà, Vietnam Airlines’s deputy director general, said that the flag carrier was making a breakthrough in expanding its domestic flight network in an effort to implement the strategy of developing the domestic flight network and response to the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism’s tourism promotion campaign.

“These are all routes connecting Vinh and Hải Phòng with the most attractive tourist destinations of Việt Nam. We hope that these routes will contribute to accelerating the development of Vinh and Cát Bi airports and promoting tourism as well as economic growth of Nghệ An Province and Hải Phòng City.

Opening new domestic flight routes was also expected to contribute to promoting trade and tourism, especially in the context that Việt Nam was entering a "new normal" period, focusing on socio-economic development and stimulating domestic tourism demand.

The routes between Vinh and Phú Quốc, Hải Phòng and Đà Lạt and Hải Phòng and Phú Quốc are officially in operation from Friday with a frequency of four flights per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The routes between Vinh and Cần Thơ, Vinh and Nha Trang, Hải Phòng and Cần Thơ, Hải Phòng and Buôn Ma Thuột will officially open on June 22 with a frequency of three flights per weeks, on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays.

During the past two months, Vietnam Airlines added 13 domestic flight routes, bringing its total flight routes to 52.

In May, the carrier opened five routes, connecting HCM City and Tuy Hòa, Hải Phòng and Nha Trang, Thanh Hóa and Buôn Ma Thuột, Vinh and Đà Lạt and Vinh and Buôn Ma Thuột. — VNS