Vietjet has entered the European Union market for the first time, launching twice-weekly Airbus A330 services linking Hanoi with Almaty and Prague, plus an Almaty–Prague sector, the carrier announced on October 11, 2026.

Inaugural ceremonies took place a day earlier, on October 10, 2026, at Almaty International Airport (ALA) in Kazakhstan and Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) in the Czech Republic, where the first arrivals received water cannon salutes. The routes connect Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) in the Vietnamese capital across a three-city network spanning Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Central Europe.

What do the new routes look like?

The services operate round-trip on Tuesdays and Saturdays, flown with Airbus A330 widebody aircraft. Passengers can book Business class or SkyBoss, Vietjet's premium product, alongside economy seating.

The network gives Vietjet three strategic anchors:

• Hanoi, serving as the gateway to Vietnam
• Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city and a major Central Asian hub
• Prague, the Czech capital and one of Central Europe's most visited cities

Vietjet said the Almaty route could also draw Vietnamese leisure travelers, since Vietnamese citizens can enter Kazakhstan visa-free for stays of up to 30 days — a demand-side factor that lowers friction for outbound tourism on the new sector.

The airline expects the routes to support tourism, trade and cultural exchange among Vietnam, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic.

What did executives and officials say?

Vietjet CEO Nguyen Thanh Son described the launch as an important milestone in the airline's international growth. He said Vietjet intends to add more European services, making travel between Europe, Asia and Australia more convenient and supporting trade and investment.

At the Prague ceremony, Duong Hoai Nam, Vietnam's ambassador to the Czech Republic, framed the new link in diplomatic terms. He said air connections serve as a bridge between the two countries and would help deepen the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, both at the government level and between their peoples.

The ambassador also thanked Vietjet for its investment in the Czech market and for improving connectivity between Vietnam and Europe.

Why does the Prague leg matter?

The Prague destination carries symbolic weight for Vietjet: it is the carrier's first passenger foothold in the European Union. For a low-cost operator built on short- and medium-haul Southeast Asian flying, operating A330s on sectors stretching from Hanoi through Almaty to Central Europe extends the airline's brand and cabin products well beyond its established network.

The three-city structure also functions as more than a simple point-to-point pair. By selling Hanoi–Almaty, Almaty–Prague and the full Hanoi–Prague journey, Vietjet can capture traffic in three distinct markets with a single operation — the Central Asian hub position of Almaty being central to that geometry.

The premium cabins on the A330s signal that Vietjet is targeting more than budget leisure traffic on these long sectors. SkyBoss and Business class offerings give the airline a product to sell into the trade, investment and diaspora traffic that both the CEO and the Vietnamese ambassador referenced at the launch events.

What comes next?

Nguyen Thanh Son's statement that Vietjet intends to add more European services indicates that Prague is intended as an entry point rather than a single destination. His framing of improved connectivity between Europe, Asia and Australia points to ambitions that reach beyond the current twice-weekly operation.

For now, the certified facts are modest in scale: two weekly round-trips on two flying days, one aircraft type, three cities. The gap between that footprint and the CEO's stated ambition of broader Europe–Asia–Australia connectivity defines the question for the coming schedule cycles: whether the A330 operation to Prague converts into a sustained, wider European network.

If the initial routes perform, the carrier's first EU presence could expand into a genuine long-haul portfolio — and Almaty's visa-free access for Vietnamese citizens gives the Kazakhstan leg an early demand test that is easier to pass.