Opportunities and challenges when opening Vietnam-US direct flights was the main topic for discussion at a recent seminar in Hanoi.

In February 2019, Vietnam was officially granted Category 1 rating certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Vietnamese airlines to fly direct to the US. While this brings obvious opportunities, the exploitation of the Vietnam-US direct route also poses significant challenges in terms of legal, economic, technical and commercial issues. Vietnamese airlines have been encouraged to get more involved with the international aviation industry, with the US identified as a key tourism market.-VNA