Lao Airlines resumes direct flights to Da Nang city

The central city of Da Nang on March 30 welcomed 150 tourists from Vientiane, Laos, on the first direct flight of Lao Airlines after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lao Airlines aircraft (Photo: Lao Airlines)
Lao Airlines aircraft (Photo: Lao Airlines)

The move signifies a promising growth in tourism, investment and trade between Laos, northeast of Thailand and central Vietnam.

The airline began its schedule with two flights per week on Thursday and Sunday before increasing to daily flights in the future.

The group of Lao tourists will visit destinations in Da Nang and the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary and Thua Thien-Hue province.

It’s the third city that Lao Airlines has resumed its post-pandemic flights to after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Lao Airlines said it would help connect and attract more visitors from the Republic of Korea and China to Vietnam through the Vientiane-Da Nang air route.

Da Nang city's Department of Tourism said the reopening of the flights would help boost tourism among world heritage sites in central Vietnam and destinations in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, northeast of Thailand in tourism links built between Laos and Vietnam.

The department said Laos was an important destination in the top-ten tourism market in 2022 with 10,000 tourists visiting, making up 2.1% of all international visitors to Da Nang.

Da Nang was a key hub in central Vietnam that help connect Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam through the East-West Economic Corridor in promoting tourism, trade, international logistics in the region.

VNA