There are up to 3,300 extra seats each week for passengers traveling between Australia and Vietnam under a new Memorandum of Understanding that the Australian Government has signed with the Vietnamese Government.

The information was released by the Australian Embassy to Hanoi on February 11.

The extra seats will boost two-way tourism by giving people more opportunities to travel between Australia and Vietnam. The agreement secures a number of benefits for travelers and the aviation and tourism industries.

Air carriers from both countries can now fly 14 services a week or about 4,200 seats to and from major Australian gateway destinations of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - an increase of about 1,200; fly seven services a week or about 2,100 seats to and from these destinations if the flights stop over at regional Australian airports such as Adelaide, Darwin or Cairns. Moreover, flights can stop over in Hong Kong to drop off and pick up passengers between Australia and Vietnam.

The signing of this memorandum finalizes negotiations which began in 2010, underscoring Australia’s record of cooperation with Vietnam.