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| Nanki Shirahama Airport (Source: visitwakayama) |
This was part of the prefecture authority’s efforts to increase international flights to Nanki Shirahama Airport after more than five years of disruption due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Accordingly, the first two round-trip flights will be carried out on July 26 and 30 between Nanki Shirahama Airport and Hanoi and Da Nang.
The aircraft used is Airbus 320 with 140 seats, which is expected to bring the delegation from Wakayama prefecture to visit localities of Vietnam and welcome tourists from Vietnam to this prefecture.
In addition, on the flight, there will also be a group of high school students from the two countries to participate in some youth exchange activities.
Nanki Shirahama Airport used to have charter flights from the Republic of Korea, China, and a number of other countries, but had to suspend operations when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
During this time, the Wakayama prefectural government decided to upgrade and build a new 2-storey international terminal with a total usable area of 3,800 square meters.
Although the project has been completed and put into use since 2021, the promotion of international flight connections is still delayed due to strict COVID-19 disease control regulations.
After the Japanese government eased border controls in October 2022, the Wakayama prefectural government has allocated a local budget of JPY150,000 to promote connecting international flights.
The promotion of opening air routes between Wakayama prefecture and Vietnam's international airports has been relatively smooth since last year due to the close relationship between the two sides.
Especially, the Unshu tangerine specialty has been launched at Aeon supermarket chain in Vietnam since December 2021.
Wakayama prefecture is not only famous for Shirahama Beach, which is among the most beautiful in Japan, but also considered the kingdom of many delicious fruits grown on large-scale organic farms and meeting strict quality and safety regulations.
Wakayama is also the place to receive a large number of Vietnamese technical interns to work in agriculture, food processing and seafood processing./.