HANOI, Nov 17 (DHA Vietnam) - National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will start its first direct flight to the United States later this month before running regular flight services from Dec 2021.

The flight destined for San Francisco was scheduled for November 28, the official Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday, the same day when it said the airlines received a permit from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to operate Vietnam-U.S. non-stop commercial flight service.

As such, Vietnam Airlines has become the country's first to have secured permission to run regular direct flights to the United States.

The airline plans to run two flights weekly between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco in December, using wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and would raise it to seven per week after the Vietnamese government allows the resumption of regular international flights, the report said.

Earlier this month the government allowed foreign travelers to return to Vietnam in several phases with limits of destinations before a full opening planned for the second quarter of 2022.

On Nov 11 several hundreds of South Korean and Japanese tourists became the first foreign travellers to have arrived in Vietnam for nearly 20 months after the country shut its border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, state media reported.

Vietnam Airlines is the official airline partner for the VPBank Hanoi Marathon, the official race of Hanoi capital and a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) since 2019.

This year organizers of the marathon, which is usually held in October, have had to delay it to December 26 as the country fought to contain the latest wave of the pandemic.

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Held annually since 2018, the VPBank Hanoi Marathon has become Hanoi’s official race and won recognition to be a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) since 2019, with a running track standardized by AIMS experts and the Vietnam Athletics Federation. Runners’ results, in addition to be qualified for competing in the 31st SEA Games, are still recognized to qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon. The VPBank Hanoi Marathon has joined the Age Group Ranking System of Abbott World Marathon Majors, counting from 2022.

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Tentative Race Date: December 26, 2021

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/VPBankHanoiMarathon

Should you have any question about the VPBank Hanoi Marathon, please email us at: hanoi.marathon@dhavietnam.vn.

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The Heritage Race system, owned and organized annually by DHA Vietnam, comprises of the VPBank Hanoi Marathon in October, the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon in November and the Can Tho Marathon - A Heritage Race in December.