Vietnam seeks air link for refugee departures

By WITH ANALYSIS FROM MONITOR CORRESPONDENTS AROUND THE WORLD; EDITED BY DEBRA K. PIOT

May 1, 1980

Bangkok, Thailand

Five years to the day that Saigon fell, Vietnam offered a glimmer of hope for an exodus of thousands of Vietnamese left behind when the Americans fled the capital. Thailand's Commercial Aviation Agency Wednesday said it was approached by Vietnam's Communist government for permission for one flight per week from Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, to Bangkok, which would carry 50 refugees.