In recent days, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the departure hall of Terminal T1 for Vietjet Air witnessed an unprecedented chaotic scene, causing a lot of surprise and frustration for passengers.
The overcrowding led to a noisy and jostling situation. Many passengers could not keep calm and argued loudly, even using uncontrolled words. Due to lack of seats, many people sat on the floor, some others tiredly slept in the public area.
On forums and social networks, passengers reflect on flight delays caused by Vietjet Air.
Many passengers have complained about flights being delayed repeatedly, in some cases 3-4 times, or even canceled without receiving any official notice from the airline. Passengers' waiting time for flights is unusually long, from 5 to 10 hours. Notably, Vietjet flight VJ190 made passengers wait for nearly 18 hours before taking off. Contacting the call center for answers also became hopeless when the call "fell into nothingness", making passengers feel abandoned and lacking information.
The root cause of the chaos and serious disruption of flight schedules at Tan Son Nhat Airport was determined to be the fact that Saigon Ground Services Joint Stock Company (SAGS) officially handed over all ground services to Vietjet Air at 0:00 on April 20. This change coincided with the peak travel period, with the number of passengers increasing dramatically, creating considerable pressure on coordination and operations.
After some flights were affected, Vietjet said it quickly requested and received timely coordination from the Southern Port Authority, Tan Son Nhat Airport, Tan Son Nhat Border Gate Police, Tan Son Nhat Customs, SAGS, SASCO, SCSC...
In addition, Vietjet Air is in the midst of preparing for the transition to the new T3 terminal. The disruption to procedures and facilities during this transition, coupled with the need to ensure continuous flight operations, has posed significant challenges for the airline.
As the April 30 and May 1 holidays are approaching, the number of passengers passing through Tan Son Nhat Airport and arriving in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to continue to increase sharply. Flight frequency will also be pushed to its peak, putting pressure on the airport infrastructure, especially the parking area, leading to congestion, delaying service and flight turnaround.
In addition to sending an apology to affected customers, to support and share with passengers, in addition to support policies at the airport, Vietjet announced that it will send a compensation E-voucher.
Immediately after the reports of chaos and serious flight delays at Tan Son Nhat Airport, aviation authorities quickly took action. According to information from aviation authorities, Vietjet Air is currently operating at Tan Son Nhat Airport with a significant frequency, estimated at about 120 flights per day. In the face of the urgent situation, the Southern Airports Authority has urgently requested Vietjet to increase its human resources and supplement necessary equipment to thoroughly overcome the situation of flight delays and cancellations that are causing public outrage.
To have an objective and comprehensive view of the incident, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has decided to establish a specialized inspection team to review the operation situation at Tan Son Nhat airport within 5 days, starting from April 22. This move shows the determination of the management agency in clarifying the cause and providing timely corrective solutions.
On the same day, Vietjet Air also officially responded to these unfortunate incidents. In a statement sent to the press, Vietjet representatives sent their sincere apologies to all passengers affected by the airline's flight delays and cancellations in recent days. The airline also emphasized that it had proactively proposed and received active cooperation from relevant units at Tan Son Nhat Airport, including the Southern Airports Authority, Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Tan Son Nhat Border Gate Police, Tan Son Nhat Customs, Saigon Ground Services Joint Stock Company (SAGS), Tan Son Nhat Airport Services Joint Stock Company (SASCO), and Tan Son Nhat Cargo Services Company Limited (SCSC).
The airline is making efforts to deploy many solutions to serve passengers safely, conveniently and thoughtfully during the peak season," said a Vietjet representative.
In addition, Vietjet promptly reported the incident to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and received necessary support from the authorities. These moves demonstrate the airline's efforts to be transparent in information and coordinate with relevant parties to resolve the crisis.
As of April 22, the operation situation at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and related airports has shown signs of stabilizing again. Units are making every effort to ensure safe and on-time flight service, especially in the context of the upcoming peak holiday season.
Previously, Vietjet was licensed and self-served the ground at Noi Bai airport since August 2020 with hundreds of thousands of safe flights. From April 20 this year, the airline started self-serving at Tan Son Nhat airport.
Along with the apology, Vietjet announced a specific compensation policy for passengers affected by flight delays of 2 hours or more on April 20 and 21. Accordingly, the airline will apply e-vouchers (electronic vouchers with cash equivalent value) with a compensation level of 500,000 VND/passenger for domestic flights and 1 million VND/passenger for international flights. This is considered a move to ease the inconveniences that passengers have to endure.
According to research, Vietjet has had experience in self-service ground handling at Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) since August 2020 and has performed hundreds of thousands of safe flights. Notably, according to Circular 19/2023 of the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction), a flight is determined to be delayed when the actual departure time is 15 minutes later than the scheduled departure time. In case the flight is delayed not due to the passenger's fault, the airline is responsible for notifying, apologizing to the passenger and ensuring the fulfillment of some obligations of the carrier.
Specifically, for flights delayed from 15 minutes to less than 2 hours, the airline must ensure food, rest, travel services and bear any additional costs appropriate to the passenger's waiting time. If the flight is delayed for 2 hours or more, the airline is responsible for transferring the passenger to another flight without charging any additional fees. In particular, for flights delayed for 5 hours or more, if the passenger requests, the airline must refund the entire cost of the air ticket and make compensation according to current regulations. These regulations are an important legal basis to protect the rights of passengers in situations of flight interruption.
