By Alesha Capone
Flights between Avalon Airport and Ho Chi Minh will take off soon, after Avalon Airport signed an agreement with Vietnamese airline Vietjet Air.
Vietjet Air, founded by the Sovico Group, is the first privately-owned airline in Vietnam.
It operate 129 routes covering the major domestic destinations in Vietnam and internationally to India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Taiwan.
After the Avalon-Vietjet Air agreement was signed, Premier Daniel Andrews toured Vietjet Air’s headquarters in Ho Chi Minh, with Avalon Airport executive chairman David Fox and Sovico Group chairman Dr Nguyen Thanh Hung.
Mr Andrews said the state government has long supported Avalon’s international ambitions.
“Over 150,000 Vietnamese people live in Victoria,” Mr Andrews said.
“These new services will provide greater choice for their family and friends to visit our great state to see their loved ones.
“Furthermore, Vietnam is becoming a popular destination for Australian tourists.”
Mr Fox said: “We are delighted with the announcement and the confidence of Vietjet in Avalon Airport as a future gateway to Melbourne and Geelong region.
“Ho Chi Minh City will be the first Vietnamese connection, but we’ll hope to expand this to other cities.” Sovico Group said it would establish an office in Melbourne.
