Passengers on a flight from Incheon, South Korea are welcomed at Đà Nẵng International Airport. It was the first flight from Incheon to Đà Nẵng in two years after COVID-19 temporarily halted the route. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng tourism promotion agency

ĐÀ NẴNG — Budget airline Vietjet Air officially resumed its Incheon-Đà Nẵng flight, carrying 220 passengers to the central city on Friday, officially restarting tourism links between Đà Nẵng and South Korea after two years of COVID-19 deadlock.

Vietjet said it would operate the air route with six flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Đà Nẵng, and from Incheon on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Vice-chairman of the city’s tourism department, Nguyễn Xuân Bình, said South Korea was one of the top tourism markets of Đà Nẵng, so the resumed flights would be given priorities policies from the city.

He said Vietjet was the first airline from Việt Nam to kick-start the air route between Đà Nẵng and Incheon in 2022.

Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Vietjet jointly held a tour survey programme in the central region for 15 representatives of South Korean travel agencies on the occasion of restarting the flight.

The department also said other airlines from South Korea, including Jeju Air and Jin Air, had scheduled flights for Incheon-Đà Nẵng between April and July, while the Deagu (South Korea)-Đà Nẵng flight had been planned from May 21 to June 16.

A night performance staged on the Hàn River banks in Đà Nẵng. The city hosted a series of arts and musical performances to welcome tourists returning to Đà Nẵng. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng tourism department

Earlier, Đà Nẵng hosted direct flights from Singapore and Bangkok.

Nine major airlines had agreed to operate their regular flights on 10 air routes from Đà Nẵng to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and India.

Đà Nẵng tourism promotion agency and HanaTour company also together promote tours to the South Korean market through social networks and digital platforms.

South Korea is a promising market for Đà Nẵng as Korean tourists make up the second-largest number of foreign tourist arrivals to the city before COVID-19 damaged the tourism hub in 2020-21.

Đà Nẵng hopes to host 3.5 million tourists in 2022. — VNS