Some Vietnam Airlines flights were delayed by as much as three hours in Hanoi Wednesday morning due to thick fog.  Five flights to Da Nang on the central coast and the southern hub Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled to depart at 6 am, 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30, had to wait until the fog cleared over Noi Bai airport before taking off.

Pham Van Lieu, director of the Noi Bai Airport Control and Operating Center, said the delay of flights due to bad weather was normal.

He said more flights could be suspended in the coming days if thick fog and bad weather continued.

The weather office has forecast that the northern region would suffer from a cold snap caused by the northeast monsoon from January 6.

It will be cloudy and rainy for several days and the temperature will fall to 10-13oC in the delta and below 10oC in the mountain areas, it has said.

Reported by X.T. – Translated by T.T.