Asiana flight turns back en route to Vietnam on coronavirus
Women walking on a street in Hanoi Feb. 28, wear protective face masks amid fears of the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. AFP
A South Korean flight turned back while en route to Vietnam, Saturday, after the authorities there said it would not be allowed to land in Hanoi. This could be part of the Southeast Asian nation's moves to restrict entry by South Koreans amid the new coronavirus outbreak.
The Asiana Airlines flight arrived back at Incheon International Airport around two hours after departing for Hanoi at 10:30 a.m.
Asiana said it decided to return flight OZ729 when the Vietnamese authorities requested the plane land at Van Don International Airport, around 140 kilometers away from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.
The plane was carrying 40 passengers.
It was not immediately clear why the Vietnamese authorities made the request.
"While Vietnam has not provided us with a clear reason, we believe it is connected with the spread of the new coronavirus," an Asian Airlines official said. "We decided to turn back as we do not have experience of landing at the airport."
Korean Air has already suspended two flights to Hanoi scheduled for this morning and is likely to cancel another scheduled to leave for Vietnam today, an official from the airline said.
Effective Saturday, Vietnam suspended its 15-day visa-waiver program for South Korean nationals, the first time the program has been halted since its implementation in July 2004.
The decision is widely expected to affect other flights connecting South Korea and Vietnam, industry watchers said.
Along with the suspension, Vietnam has banned the entry of visitors who have traveled to South Korea's southeastern city of Daegu and the adjacent North Gyeongsang Province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak here.
The government reported a whopping 594 additional cases of the new coronavirus to bring total infections to 2,931 as of Saturday morning. So far, 17 patients have died from the virus that emerged in China late last year, including one virus-related death earlier in the day. (Yonhap)