The first tourists from Tashkent, Uzbekistan arrived in Đà Nẵng City on the chartered flight of the Centrium-Air Airways.  Photo courtesy of Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG – Centrium-Air Airways of Uzbekistan began its first flight connecting Tashkent and the central city of Đà Nẵng with one chartered flight per week between April and June, offering more options to meet increasing demands of tourism and trade from the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The airline, in partnership with Prestige DMC Việt Nam and Red Island Prestige Travel Uzbekistan, is planning to double the number of flights to two a week from June to October, said chairwoman of Prestige DMC Việt Nam company Nguyễn Thị Phương.

Deputy director of Đà Nẵng City’s Tourism department, Nguyễn Thị Hoài An said the newly launched flight would be another exciting addition to promoting Đà Nẵng among the new markets in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, following the success of the new Almaty-Đà Nẵng air route earlier in April, and an introduction of Đà Nẵng hospitality at the recent Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair.

It’s expected that 10,000 visitors from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will be booking tours to Đà Nẵng between June and October.

The department said there would be 11 flights a week from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Đà Nẵng, including two from Almaty and two from Astana, creating smooth connection among Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Russia and Đà Nẵng.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's national flag carrier, Air Astana and SCAT Airlines, have scheduled flights from Almaty and Astana to Đà Nẵng from this June.

Last year Đà Nẵng International Airport hosted 13.4 million passengers, of which 6.2 million were international arrivals and landed 32,400 tonnes of cargo. The airport has 24 direct air routes, of which 16 are international, hosting an average of 90 to 140 flights per day.VNS