Flights to U.S. Delayed Until Mid-2006

Vietnam Airlines has pushed back plans to fly to the United States until mid-2006, state-controlled media reported today.

The communist country’s national carrier had hoped to begin flights to San Francisco by the end of this year or early next year, but the airline has not completed discussions with aviation authorities in South Korea, China and Japan to determine the best stopover for the route, the Youth newspaper quoted Vietnam Airlines deputy general director Pham Ngoc Minh as saying.

In December, United Airlines became the first American carrier to fly to Vietnam since the war ended 30 years ago.