Budget airline Vietjet Air revealed its plan to launch air routes between Vladivostok in Russia and a number of Vietnamese localities on November 24, with the first flight scheduled for May 2015.

The route connecting the far eastern Russian city and Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, will become operational in May 2015 with three round flights per week, it said.

Flights between Vladivostok and Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, and Phu Quoc will be opened later, Vietjet Air said, adding that each flight would take approximately 5.5 hours.

With a new airplane fleet and quality services, the routes are expected to meet the two countries’ need for cargo transport, cultural exchange and tourism cooperation, helping to promote their long-standing ties, the carrier said.

The launch event in Moscow was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and other senior Vietnamese officials, who are escorting Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on his official visit to Russia, as well as Russian officials.

On September 6, Vietjet Air signed an agreement with the Vladivostok International Airport to open direct flights between the two sides at the 17th session of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation in Vladivostok.-VNA