Vietnam: What are the responsibilities of carriers in case the delayed flight is not caused by passengers?
What are the responsibilities of carriers in case the delayed flight is not caused by passengers in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 8 of Circular 81/2014/TT-BGTVT amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular 19/2023/TT-BGTVT, if the delayed flight is not caused by passengers, carriers are responsible for adequately informing passengers via appropriate means; issuing apologies to passengers; taking care of meals, rest, travel, and incurring other relevant costs for passengers waiting at airports according to transportation regulations and ensuring passenger service quality at airports according to regulations of Minister of Transport.
Besides, carriers must fulfill the following obligations for passengers:
(1) If a flight is delayed for at least 2 hours: within the scope of services of carriers, change appropriate route for passengers or transfer passengers to different flights, grant exemption from route change or flight transfer restrictions and related surcharges (if any) for passengers;
(2) If a flight is delayed for at least 5 hours: in case passengers do not request carriers to fulfill obligations under (1) but require a refund for their air tickets, carriers must issue a refund for air tickets that have not been used to passengers at airports or representative offices, branches, or ticket agencies designated by airlines;
(3) If a flight is delayed for an indefinite of time: in addition to obligations under (1) and (2), when requested by passengers, carriers must make a non-refundable advance compensation for passengers who have had their seats on the flights confirmed and obtained air tickets in accordance with regulations on non-refundable advance compensation in passenger air transport of Ministry of Transport.
If passengers are denied boarding due to carriers’ fault and if a flight is canceled where passengers are not informed by carriers in advance, in addition to adequately informing passengers via appropriate means; issuing apologies to passengers; taking care of meals, rest, travel, and incurring other relevant costs for passengers waiting at airports according to transportation regulations and ensuring passenger service quality at airports according to regulations of Minister of Transport, carriers must:
- Make non-refundable advance compensation for passengers who have had their seats on the flights confirmed and obtained air tickets for the flights in accordance with regulations on non-refundable advance compensation in passenger air transport of the Minister of Transport;
- Within the scope of services of carriers, change the appropriate route for passengers or transfer passengers to different flights, grant exemption from route change or flight transfer restrictions and related surcharges (if any) for passengers;
- If passengers refuse the adoption of Point b of this Clause, carriers must issue a refund for air tickets that have not been used to passengers at airports, representative offices, branches, or ticket agencies designated by airlines;
- If passengers refuse the adoption of Point b and Point c of this Clause, carriers may fulfill other obligations according to the agreement with the passengers.
What are the regulations on refund of airline ticket fares in Vietnam?
Refund of airline ticket fares for passengers according to the provisions of Article 8 of Circular 81/2014/TT-BGTVT amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular 19/2023/TT-BGTVT are specified as follows:
+ Restrictions on refund and refund charges (if any) shall be exempted;
+ Completely unused tickets shall be completely refunded. The fare is inclusive of freight, taxes and fees prescribed by the State, security screening service charges, customer service charges at the airport and other incurring surcharges according to legal invoices presented by the passenger.
+ Partially unused tickets shall be refunded in proportion to the unused portion.
What does the application submitted by foreign airlines that wish to sell tickets in Vietnam include?
Foreign airlines applying for issuance of license for establishment of representative offices and ticket offices shall submit application in person, postal service or other appropriate methods to Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and shall be responsible for information in the application according to Article 10 of Circular 81/2014/TT-BGTVT amended by Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 21/2020/TT-BGTVT. Application includes:
- Written application form specified in Appendix III issued together with Circular 81/2014/TT-BGTVT;
- Copies of license for the establishment, enterprise registration certificates or equivalent documents of the airlines (in Vietnamese or English);
- Copies of operation regulations of the airlines (in Vietnamese or English);
- Copies of documents verifying rights to use base offices where representative offices and ticket offices are situated in Vietnam;
- Copies from master register, copies and master register for comparison or certified true copies (in case of online application), certified true copies (in case of submission via postal network) of documents assigning heads of representative offices and ticket offices (in Vietnamese or English).
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