Van Don International Airport in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province, the country's first privately-owned airport, received a flight from China as its first international flight on Monday.

The flight departed from Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday night, Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday.

The air route connecting Van Don and Shenzhen is in line with the airport's strategy to explore international markets, especially populous ones in Asia such as China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, according to Pham Van Sau, director of Van Don International Airport.

In June, the airport will operate new routes between Van Don and some cities in China and South Korea, he said, adding that it will welcome more international flights from Japan and Thailand later this year.

After five months in operation, the airport has welcomed over 90,000 passengers on 664 flights of three domestic carriers, namely Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Bamboo Airways.

The airport is expected to have annual capacity of receiving 2-2.5 million passengers by 2020, and 5 million passengers by 2030.