AviationNews – Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet Air officially launched its inaugural scheduled European service connecting Hanoi with Prague via Almaty on October 10. The new route provides critical direct seat capacity bridging Southeast Asia and Central Europe while establishing Kazakhstan as a pivotal transit corridor.
The twice-weekly link addresses an underserved travel market between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, which hosts one of Europe’s largest Vietnamese diaspora communities of roughly 70,000 residents. Operating on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the service follows a strategic agreement secured earlier this year under fifth-freedom traffic rights negotiated between Vietnamese, Kazakh, and Czech aviation authorities. Prague Airport estimates the connection will transport upwards of 67,000 travelers in its opening year, eliminating cumbersome transfers previously required through Gulf or East Asian hubs.
VietJet deploys wide-body Airbus A330-300 aircraft configured with 377 seats on the route. Flights depart Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport for Prague’s Václav Havel Airport with an intermediate ground stop in Almaty lasting between 90 and 110 minutes. Crucially, the exercised fifth-freedom liberties enable the carrier to sell passenger tickets separately for the Prague–Almaty sector, reviving direct commercial air travel between Kazakhstan’s financial capital and the Czech Republic for the first time since 2016.
“Direct air links between Prague and Vietnam fulfill a long-standing structural demand across the Czech travel market,” stated Josef Trejbal, sales director at Czech travel portal Letuška.cz. “Beyond leisure demand and trade missions, the route delivers direct convenience to visiting families and opens affordable transit onward to more than 40 Asian destinations via Hanoi.”
Looking ahead, VietJet plans to expand its intercontinental footprint using Almaty as a central Eurasian stepping stone, with additional Central European links—including proposed services toward Berlin—already in preliminary development stages. Future delivery cycles of modern Airbus A330neo jets will gradually replace older wide-body airframes, boosting fuel efficiency and supporting potential non-stop services.
The launch marks a milestone in VietJet’s long-haul ambitions, unlocking budget travel corridors across three distinct economic zones. By pairing Fifth-Freedom accessibility with high-capacity wide-bodies, the airline secures a competitive foothold in European airspace.