Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi on Saturday morning saw the departure of the country's first regular international passenger flight after months-long shutdown to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

The flight, heading to Japan's capital Tokyo, was operated by the Vietnamese flag carrier Vietnam Airlines with some 60 passengers on board, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Most of them are Vietnamese students and workers going back to Japan to continue studying and working. The flight also carried a number of Japanese nationals, according to the news agency.

Passengers exiting Vietnam must have a certificate of negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test result issued within 72 hours before departure.

In September, Vietnam Airlines is expected to carry out three more flights to Japan, while the reverse route from Japan to Vietnam will be arranged later upon the official notice of relevant authorities, said the report.

Vietnam suspended all international flights in late March. The country has recorded 1,068 COVID-19 cases so far, with 35 having succumbed to the disease as of Saturday morning. No local transmission has been recorded nationwide in more than two weeks, according to the country's Ministry of Health.