Vietnam Airlines has begun direct services between Ho Chi Minh City and Colombo, with its inaugural flight landing at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake late on Sunday.
The Airbus A320, operating as flight VN-671 from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, arrived at 11.02 p.m. and was met with a traditional water salute. A total of 164 passengers arrived on the inaugural service, while 172 departed for Vietnam on the return leg.
Three flights a week
The route will operate three days a week — Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays — with each flight taking about four hours and 30 minutes.
A ceremony at Katunayake marked the launch, attended by aviation, tourism and diplomatic representatives. Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam was chief guest and said the route would create opportunities to expand tourism, trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Vietnam Airlines has partnered with Advantis Aviation Services, a Hayleys PLC subsidiary that has been the airline’s general sales agent in Sri Lanka since 2019. Advantis Group Managing Director Ruwan Waidyaratne said the inaugural flight marked a new chapter in connectivity between the two countries, Daily Mirror reported.
The carrier said the service will also give Sri Lankan travellers easier access to Vietnam and onward destinations across its international network.
The launch puts a second carrier on the Colombo-Ho Chi Minh City corridor within days. Vietjet Air announced in May that it would begin its own direct service on the same route on August 18, also with three round-trips a week. The two countries agreed in July to develop a joint tourism package on the back of improving air links.
