Hanoi to close airport to int’l arrivals amid resurgence of COVID-19

Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport will stop welcoming passengers from abroad from June 1 amid rising COVID-19 infections in the capital.

Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport will stop welcoming passengers from abroad from June 1. (Photo: VNA)

The suspension will last until June 7, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said in an urgent dispatch sent to airlines, the Southern and Northern Airports Authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Department, and the Ministry of Public Security’s Immigration Department.

It also decided to extend the suspension at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City to June 14 instead June 4, as announced earlier.

The decision was made based on directions given by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

On May 27, the CAAV ordered the suspension of foreign arrivals at Tan Son Nhat in response to the recent detection of a COVID-19 cluster in the southern city.

As of 12pm on May 31, Vietnam had documented a total of 5,733 domestic infections, with 4,163 cases since the latest outbreak hit the country on April 27.

The country has sealed its borders since March last year but still grants entry to diplomats, foreign experts, and repatriated Vietnamese.

Hanoi has documented 209 infections since April 29. It shut down all food and beverage establishments as well as hair salons and beauty parlours from May 25 to contain the outbreak.

Meanwhile, HCM City has introduced social distancing measures for at least two weeks, starting on May 31.