The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that Vietnam's civil aviation
authority complies with international aviation safety standards, opening the
door for Vietnamese carriers to fly to the U.S.
Vietnam Airlines and Vietnamese start-up Bamboo Airways have
both expressed a desire to fly to the U.S. West Coast, where Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Seattle would be the most likely destinations. At present, no
airline flies nonstop between the U.S. and Vietnam.
Carriers must still obtain their own regulatory approvals
from the FAA and Department of Transportation in order to begin servicing the U.S.
The FAA said that it granted
Vietnam a Category 1 International Aviation Safety Assessment rating based on
an August 2018 assessment of the country's civil aviation authority.