Vietnam Airlines officially launched the first direct flight between Vietnam and Denmark, connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Danish capital, Copenhagen on 15 December. This also marks the first-ever non-stop air link between Vietnam and Northern Europe.
The route operates three times per week using the wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Flights ldepart Ho Chi Minh City at 22:45 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while return flights from Copenhagen will depart at 10:50 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The new route represents a significant step in the Vietnamese national flag carrier’s European network expansion strategy for the 2025–2030 period, responding to rising demand for travel, business, trade and family visits between Vietnam and the Nordic region.
The inaugural flight departed Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 22.45 on December 15 and landed at Copenhagen Airport after more than 12 hours of flight time, carrying over 200 passengers. On the return leg, the flight departed Copenhagen at 22.50 local time on December 16 and arrived in Ho Chi Minh City later the same day, serving more than 300 passengers.
The new route is expected to significantly improve connectivity between Vietnam and Denmark, while better serving the Vietnamese community in Northern Europe, estimated at around 70,000 people. It is also anticipated to support the continued growth of Nordic visitors to Vietnam, which has increased steadily in recent years.
Copenhagen is consistently ranked among the world’s most liveable cities and serves as a major transport hub for Scandinavia. From Copenhagen Airport, passengers can easily connect to destinations across Sweden, Norway and Finland through a modern transport infrastructure and extensive regional network.
The Nordic market is regarded as particularly promising, especially during the winter season, when travellers from Northern Europe seek warmer destinations such as Vietnam. With the launch of the Copenhagen route, Vietnam Airlines becomes one of the few Southeast Asian carriers offering direct services to Northern Europe.
The new service further strengthens the Vietnam Airline’s European network, which already includes Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, London, Milan and Moscow.
SAS and Vietnam Airlines expand codeshare partnership with new routes
In November last year, Scandinavian Airlines and Vietnam Airlines announced the expansion of their cooperation with a broader codeshare agreement.
With the new agreement, SAS customers can book Vietnam Airlines’ direct Copenhagen–Ho Chi Minh City flights under the SAS code, as well as onward connections to the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Da Lat and Hue. Vietnam Airlines will also place its code on SAS-operated flights beyond Copenhagen, including domestic routes to Aarhus, Aalborg, and Billund, and intra-Scandinavian services to Stockholm, Oslo, Gothenburg, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Helsinki.
