HCMC – Lao Airlines will reopen an air route linking the Lao capital of Vientiane and Vietnam’s Danang City from March 30, with two weekly flights on Thursdays and Saturdays, said a representative of the airline.

The flight resumption on the Vientiane-Danang route, favored by lots of tourists before the Covid-19 pandemic, is expected to satisfy the surging travel demand in the region after Covid travel restrictions were lifted, said Noudeng Chanthaphasouk, commercial director of Lao Airlines, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Lao carrier earlier operated flights to the central city of Danang with stops in Pakxe and Champasak in southern Laos, using ATR72-600 aircraft, but then dropped the stop in Pakxe and started nonstop flights just several weeks before the pandemic broke out and halted international air services.

Lao Airlines will use A320 aircraft for the flight resumption on the route, with a flight time of one hour and 15 minutes and a round-trip ticket at around 4.8 million LAK, or some US$290.

Speaking about the reopening of the route, Noudeng Chanthaphasouk said Vientiane-Danang was an important air route in the Lao tourism industry. The resumption is expected to help revive tourism in Laos and enhance connectivity between Laos and other regional countries.

Lao Airlines resumed flights to Hanoi and HCMC after the Lao government reopened its doors to international visitors on May 9, 2022.