The provincial leaders and Vietravel Airlines representatives presented flowers to the crew members and boarded the plane to see inside. — VNA/VNS Photo Đỗ Trưởng

THỪA THIÊN HUẾ — The Vietnam Travel Aviation Co Ltd (Vietravel Airlines) on Monday held a ceremony to welcome its 220-seat Airbus A321CEO plane which landed at Phú Bài International Airport in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế for the first time.

According to a Vietravel Airlines representative, in December, the firm quickly completed its fleet of three A321CEO planes. The first aircraft arrived in Viet Nam on December 5 and the remaining two are expected to come to the country on December 24-25 and January 10, 2021.

Speaking at the ceremony, vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Thanh Bình said the event marked an important milestone in the service economy of the province.

Thừa Thiên - Huế pledges to create the most favourable conditions for Vietravel to implement its projects on schedule, thus helping the local service and tourism sectors quickly recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, he stressed.

Vietravel Airlines, headquartered at Phú Bài International Airport, aims to serve one million passengers in its first year of operations.

In the initial period, it plans to conduct more than 80 flights per week, mostly linking with HCM City, Huế, Hà Nội, and popular tourist destinations like Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang, and Phú Quốc.

Vietravel Airlines is the latest air carrier in the country, joining Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, and Hải Âu Aviation. It has a total investment of VNĐ700 billion (US$30.2 million) and a lifespan of 50 years and is set to provide both domestic and international air transport services. — VNS