Budget Carrier Vietjet to fly Melbourne-Ho Chi Minh

The route is the Vietnamese budget airline’s first from the Victorian capital and will take capacity to the Southeast Asian country to 150 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Vietjet will join Bamboo Airways and Jetstar in flying from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City and plans to upgrade to a daily service by December 2024.

“Services will offer an evening departure from Melbourne, allowing travellers to land in Ho Chi Minh in the morning, providing seamless connections to domestic destinations or facilitating a day of business in Vietnam,” said Melbourne Airport’s CEO Lorie Argus

“With its extensive international network, Vietjet can also offer low-cost onward flight options to destinations including India, Japan and South Korea via Ho Chi Minh City.

“Vietnam is the largest source market for education in Southeast Asia, with more than 41 per cent of Vietnamese international students in Australia choosing Victoria as their study destination, so this is yet another option for them to travel Down Under to study at our world-class higher learning institutions.”

It comes after the chief executive of Sydney Airport recently called on international airlines to operate more flights to boost Australia’s struggling tourism sector.