SYDNEY — Vietjet will launch a direct service between HCM City and Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) early next year, strengthening air links between Việt Nam and Australia and supporting tourism, trade and investment, the airline said on Monday.

The MoU was exchanged at the Techconnect Forum in Sydney, a Việt Nam-Australia forum focused on science, technology, innovation and education, in the presence of Việt Nam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phan Văn Giang, government officials and business leaders from both countries.

The new route will begin on January 9, 2027, with two round-trip services a week, making Vietjet one of the first airlines to provide international connectivity to Australia’s newest airport.

Australia is one of Vietjet’s strategic international markets. The airline currently operates services linking Việt Nam with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

“Every new route brings our two countries closer while opening up new opportunities for tourism, trade, investment, knowledge exchange and wider cooperation,” Vietjet CEO Nguyễn Thanh Sơn said.

Western Sydney International Airport CEO Simon Hickey said the airport was pleased to welcome Vietjet, adding that tickets for the initial services would go on sale on Monday.

Western Sydney is one of Australia's fastest-growing and most diverse regions and is home to more than 70,000 Vietnamese people, or more than half of Greater Sydney’s Vietnamese population, Hickey said.

WSI is Australia’s first major international greenfield airport development in more than 50 years and is designed to operate around the clock. It is expected to support investment and growth in the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, an emerging hub for advanced manufacturing, logistics, technology and industry.

The airport is eventually planned to handle up to 82 million passengers a year. — VNS