Laos, Japan to reopen travel

However, the expatriates need to pursue all health guidelines, including staying in quarantine for 14 days after entering their respective countries in a move to further prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith and his visiting Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu met in Vientiane on Sunday to discuss and agree on easing entry restrictions.
Under the relaxation of the travel restrictions, Lao students with Japanese government scholarships will be permitted to enter Japan.
The two sides also agreed to accelerate their coordination in order to allow short-term visitors to enter their respective countries as soon as possible, including business people, according to Kyodo News report.
Nevertheless, State-run Lao Airlines still has no plans to open flights to Japan, Director of the Commercial Department of Laos Airlines, Mr Noudeng Chanthaphasouk, said yesterday.
Mr Noudeng said Lao Airlines wished to resume charter flights to South Korea in September but it will depend on the government’s decision. “I think if the situation (Covid-19 epidemic) is improving in neighbouring countries and regions, resuming charter flights to South Korea by Lao Airlines in September is possible,” he said.
The charter flights between Laos and Korea are an effective channel for Lao nationals overseas to return home because there are no direct flights from Europe or the US to Laos.
People travelling from Europe to Laos have to transit through Vietnam, Thailand or another Asian country, but at the moment, the border between Laos and these countries remain closed.
The government issued a ban on international charter flights at the end of July after a 32-year-old Korean national who entered Laos tested positive for Covid-19.
Previously Lao and Vietnamese carriers planned to reopen international commercial flights between their respective countries in July but they had to postpone due to the virus outbreak.
Currently, Lao Airlines operates only two scheduled international flights per week between Vientiane to Kunming city of Yunnan province in China (Thursday and Sunday). Meanwhile, Chinese airlines operate two international flights between the two cities (Tuesday and Friday).
These flights aimed to facilitate Chinese people who work in construction projects in Laos, particularly the Laos-China railway and other hydropower projects invested by Chinese enterprises.
So far Laos has reported 22 Covid-19 cases after testing more than 1,800 people entering the country through border crossings with neighbouring countries.
As of August 25, more than 23.79 million people have been infected with Covid-19 globally and more than 816,380 people have died, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.