Vietnam-Russia Air Links Accelerate, Opening Doors for Passengers and Cargo

Russian chocolate, cheese, salami, smoked meat, olives, dried fish and cosmetics are appearing more frequently on Vietnamese e-commerce platforms and online shops. A quick search can bring up products shipped from Russia to consumers in Vietnam.

Online listings put 250- to 300-gram packages of salami at 215,000 to 300,000 Vietnamese dong, cheese at about 145,000 dong per box, olives at around 250,000 dong and high-cocoa chocolate at about 330,000 dong. Some specialty dried fish sells for roughly 700,000 dong.

T.T.V., a seller in Ho Chi Minh City who specializes in products shipped from Russia, said customers often ask for premium Beluga vodka, confectionery and dietary supplements. Prices vary according to the source, weight and import timing. For hand-carried goods, shipping costs also depend on airfreight rates, flight schedules and whether enough orders can be consolidated for a trip.

Online shopping has helped create a wider service network, including product searches, payment assistance, receipt of goods in Russia, package consolidation, packing, customs procedures and home delivery in Vietnam.

Airlines are expanding alongside that trade. Vietnam Airlines increased Hanoi-Moscow service from three to four flights a week on July 1, using Boeing 787 aircraft. Vietjet has announced plans for routes from Da Nang to Moscow, and from Nha Trang to Kazan and Novosibirsk. Aeroflot is expected to begin twice-weekly Moscow-Phú Quốc flights on October 15.

The wider network means travel between Vietnam and Russia no longer depends on a single route. Direct links to Kazan, Novosibirsk and other cities open access to more regions of Russia for Vietnamese tourism businesses.

Vietnam’s statistics agency reported more than 863,500 Russian arrivals in the first seven months of 2026, up 274% from the same period a year earlier. Russia ranked third among Vietnam’s largest source markets. Nha Trang, Phú Quốc and Phan Thiết remain popular coastal destinations, while tour operators are adding charter flights from several Russian cities. Anex Vietnam expects to bring about 13,000 to 15,000 Russian visitors to Phú Quốc each month during the autumn-winter 2026-2027 season.