Expat in germany

The Hanoitimes – Berlin announced the deployment of its warship to the sea is in line with its policy adopted in September 2020.

Germany plans to send its frigate to the Indo-Pacific in August with a passage to the South China Sea, becoming the first German warship to sail the contested sea since 2002.

German Navy vessel ‘Berlin’ in the Mediterranean Sea near the Cretan town of Souda, Greece. Photo:  the Federal Defence Forces of Germany/AFP/VNA

The warship, will leave its home port of Wilhelmshaven at the beginning of August for a six-month journey and sail through the South China Sea (called East Sea by Vietnam) on its return journey.

The journey is in line with Germany’s “Policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region” adopted in September 2020.

The ship will not pass within what German officials called the “12-nautical-mile” in a reference to contested areas in the crowded sea, Reuters cited Germany’s officials.

However, it was said that the Federal Government understood the dispatch of the frigate as a sign to counter Chinese sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

It was also said that Germany thereby reaffirmed the July 2016 ruling of the arbitral tribunal established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Germany’s ministerial sources said that the operation would protect “our multilateral, rule-based principles and values, such as our commitment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.

Almost all the energy-rich South China Sea is claimed by China which has built a series of military outposts on artificial islands.

The US regularly sends its vessels to conduct “freedom of navigation” in the sea with many journeys close by to some of these islands, asserting freedom of access to international waterways.

Washington has repeatedly accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea and trying to intimidate Asian neighbors in exerting their legitimate rights within their territorial waters.

The Hanoitimes – Only passengers meeting all immigration and health requirements are allowed to board Vietnam Airlines flights.

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced it will temporarily suspend services between Vietnam and France starting March 17 until further notice from the competent authorities, due to a rising number of coronavirus infections in France and limited operating conditions.

A Vietname Airlines airplane. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

The routes connecting Vietnam with the UK and Germany will continue operating as planned, the carrier said in a release on Tuesday evening.

In a latest move to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Vietnamese government has decided to suspend entry of visitors from the UK and 26 Schengen countries.

In Southeast Asia, the airline will temporarily suspend flights between Vietnam and Malaysia from March 18 to March 31 after the Malaysian government’s decision to temporarily close borders and the neighboring country has become a new epicenter of the virus outbreak in Southeast Asia.

The Hanoitimes – All air carriers have temporarily halted international flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

All Vietnamese airlines have announced temporary suspension of international services as travel restrictions across the globe are delivering a strong blow to the aviation industry.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced on March 19 it would suspend all international flights until April 30 due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, entry restrictions of many countries as well as border closures between nations.

The person is spraying disinfectant on a flight board. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Specifically, the carrier’s flights to and from Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar will be halted from March 21 while services to/from the UK and Japan will be temporarily canceled from March 23.

Its flights to Germany and Australia will be stopped from March 24 while those returning to Vietnam will be canceled from March 25.

Previously, the carrier had temporarily suspended services connecting Vietnam and China, Hongkong, Macau, South Korea, France, Russia, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Budget carrier Vietjet Air will also cease flying from and to ASEAN countries including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia.

The low-cost carrier also announced on March 3 to suspend all flights between Vietnam and South Korea from March 7.

Jetstar Pacific, the budget arm of Vietnam Airlines, will also temporarily cease all international flights until April 30.

Meanwhile, startup airline Bamboo Airways announced to postpone its plan to fly between Hanoi and Prague of the Czech Republic as originally scheduled from March 29 to April 26 due to the pandemic. Other international flights have also been canceled.

According to the carriers, passengers on flights affected by schedule alterations during the Covid-19 pandemic time can change their flight date and time free of charge.

Travelers arriving from pandemic-hit areas at Noi Bai International Airport revealed from March 19 will be channeled and sent to concentrated isolation areas where they make health declarations and are taken samples for Covid-19 test.

The regulation is approved by the Ministries of Health and Transport to reduce congestion due to the implementation of many safety procedures for passengers arriving at the airport in recent days.

The Hanoitimes – The repatriation gives priority to children under 18, the elderly, the sick, and people of special cases.

Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, has been repatriating thousands of citizens and taking foreigners back to their home countries amid the global lockdown.

Vietnamese citizens from Japan arrive at Vietnam’s airport. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

The repatriation of Vietnamese nationals gives priority to children under 18, the elderly, the sick, students having no dormitories, and those of special cases. It must ensure the safety requirements of related parties and meeting Vietnam’s mass quarantine capacity.

So far, Vietnam Airlines has conducted a number of flights to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from European countries, Canada, the UK, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, among others, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed.

Vietnamese people check in for flight back home in Paris . Photo: Vietnam Airlines

On May 5-6, Vietnam Airlines brought back 240 Vietnamese people from Paris to Van Don airport in Quang Ninh province, including children under 14. On the Hanoi-Paris flight, it flew nearly 200 French nationals and carried on board medical supplies that the government of Vietnam donated to French people.

Vietnamese citizens arrive home country from Dubai (UAE) . Photo: Vietnam Airlines

On May 3, Vietnam Airlines VN88 flight brought nearly 300 Vietnamese citizens back to the country from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. This is the first repatriation flight from the Middle East.

As Dubai is not a regular destination of Vietnam Airlines, the airlines needed to bring technicians and ground staff to work at Dubai airport.

Inside a flight from Canada . Photo: Vietnam Airlines

On May 1, nearly 300 Vietnamese citizens were repatriated on flight VN08 by Vietnam Airlines. On way to Canada, the airlines brought back a number of Canadians.

A group of 30 crewmember served the return flight of nearly 42 hours.

On April 22, Vietnam Airlines again brought back nearly 300 Vietnamese citizens who are the sick, pregnant women, students and workers of expired residency permits from Japan after having carried Vietnam’s pandemic medical aid to Japanese people.

Check-in for Italian passenger . Photo: Vietnam Airlines

On April 16, a flight operated by Vietnam Airlines and financed by ENI, an Italian multinational oil and gas company, repatriated more than 50 Italians and carried on board four tons of medical supplies to donate Italian people.

Over the past time, Vietnam Airlines has send aircraft to repatriate foreigners and taken medical aid to five European countries, including Germany, the UK, Laos, and Cambodia.