Vietnam Airlines plans to launch direct flights to the US in the last quarter of 2010, three years later than originally planned, its spokesman told Thanh Nien Daily Friday.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), the US is a tough market where aviation authorities impose many strict requirements for direct flights.

All US-bound flights must follow tight security and safety regulations, including supplying the passenger list with personal information four hours before take-off.

Last year Vietnam Airlines’ revenues rose 31 percent to VND26.6 trillion (US$1.5 billion) as it carried a total of 8.8 million passengers.

The airline Wednesday appointed Globe Air Cargo, part of the European Cargo Services group,

as its exclusive general sales agent (GSA) in the UK, the Transportweekly newswire said.

The deal is part of the airline’s preparation for the launch of flights to London, possibly this year.

ECS is Vietnam Airlines’ cargo GSA in France, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Reported by Vinh Bao