Passengers to receive fare refunds when flights are delayed for 5 hours or more in Vietnam

Passengers to receive fare refunds when flights are delayed for 5 hours or more in Vietnam

Specifically, if a flight is delayed due to errors caused by the carrier, the carrier shall fulfill the following obligations:

(i) Regarding a flight delayed for 2 hours or more:

Within the scope of service provision of the carrier, he/she shall appropriately change the route for the passengers or transfer passengers to another flight so that they can reach their final destination and exempt passengers from restrictions from route change, flight change, or extra fees (if any);

(ii) Regarding a flight delayed for 5 hours or more:

If the passengers request fare refunds instead of obligations prescribed in (i), the carrier shall fully refund the fares or refund the unused portions of the tickets to passengers at airports or representative offices or ticket sale agents designated by the airlines;

(iii) Regarding a flight subject to prolonged delay:  

Aside from obligations prescribed in (i) and (ii) upon requests from passengers, the carrier shall provide non-refundable fixed compensation for passengers with determined seats and tickets on the flight according to regulations on non-refundable fixed compensation in air passenger transport of the Minister of Transport of Vietnam.

Additionally, the carrier shall provide and update sufficient information for passengers via appropriate methods; issue apologies; ensure the passengers’ eating, traveling, and rest and pay for relevant costs in conformity with the waiting time at the airport as prescribed in the transport charter and ensure the quality of passenger services at airports according to regulations stipulated by the Minister of Transport of Vietnam.

*A delayed flight refers to a flight with an actual departure time more than 15 minutes late compared to the scheduled departure time prescribed in the base flight schedule.

Circular No. 19/2023/TT-BGTVT comes into force as of September 1, 2023.

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