VIETNAM, June 17 - HÀ NỘI — Vietnam Airlines has inaugurated a route between Việt Nam and the Philippines, making it the first Vietnamese carrier to establish a direct connection to the island nation.

The inaugural flight, VN648, departed from HCM City at 12.50am on Monday and landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila at 4.20am the same day.

The national carrier will operate seven flights a week between the two Southeast Asian countries, four on the HCM City-Manila route and the remainder on the Hà Nội-Manila one.

Vietnam Airlines views it as a promising market, for both tourist and business travellers, serving a community of nearly 30,000 Vietnamese residing in the Philippines and around 7,000 Filipinos living in Việt Nam.

In recent years, Việt Nam has become attractive for Filipino visitors thanks to its geographical proximity, affordable travel costs and rich cultural heritage, while in turn the Philippines is becoming an attractive destination for Vietnamese visitors.

The Việt Nam Airlines’s launch of direct flights is a sign of a growing strategic partnership between the two, with many opportunities for both to increase tourism and trade. — VNS