There were flights carrying National Assembly delegates to meetings that were delayed up to three times.

National Assembly Delegate Huynh Thi Phuc said that at the 8th and 9th Sessions, there were flights that National Assembly delegates were on that were delayed three times and for more than 2 hours.

National Assembly delegate Huynh Thi Phuc mentioned the situation of flight delays and cancellations. Photo: Quochoi.vn

On the afternoon of November 12, continuing the 10th Session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on Vietnam Civil Aviation (amended).

At the discussion session, National Assembly delegate Huynh Thi Phuc (HCMC delegation) mentioned the situation of flight delays and cancellations.

According to this delegate, Article 53 of the draft law stipulates the responsibility of the airline when the flight is delayed, canceled, or transported. However, these regulations are only at a general level.

“If there is no binding mechanism or specific sanctions, the rights of passengers will still be in limbo as in the current situation,” said delegate Huynh Thi Phuc, who proposed to amend the regulation in the direction that airlines must publicly disclose the reasons for delays, postponements, and cancellations and the expected time to fix them, and no more than twice.

This person gave an example, at the 8th and 9th Sessions, there were flights that National Assembly deputies were on that were delayed three times and for more than 2 hours.

"That is the reality and many National Assembly deputies have witnessed this," the delegate said, adding that when passengers are informed early, they can proactively arrange their work and reduce stress.

As for force majeure cases due to weather and technical reasons, they must be accepted, without limit on number of times and time.

According to the delegate, it is necessary to clearly stipulate the time limit for refunding tickets in the direction of a maximum of 7 working days, from the date of receiving a valid request. If delayed, the airline may be subject to sanctions or compensation accordingly. Currently, passengers who are entitled to refunds often take a long time to receive their money.

The female delegate of the Ho Chi Minh City delegation said that it is necessary to pay attention to the transparency of passenger service procedures. When there are no procedures or standards, passengers do not know their rights, and service staff do not have a consistent basis to handle situations when they arise.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam needs to periodically publish performance indicators of each airline such as on-time refund rate and complaint settlement rate.

Publicity is not to create pressure but to form a positive competitive mechanism, helping passengers have transparent information when choosing services.

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung. Photo: Quochoi.vn

On the same issue, delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC delegation) said the bill has stipulated the responsibility to notify and take care of passengers; arrange the itinerary or refund when the airline is at fault and pay compensation in advance when there is a long delay, cancellation, or refusal due to the airline's fault.

However, the concepts of "prolonged delay" and "advance compensation" are still qualitative, easily leading to different understandings.

Regarding the mechanism for resolving complaints and providing quick compensation to passengers, the delegate stated that the bill is designing a fairly adequate complaint period for luggage and goods. However, there is no specific procedure for flight delays and cancellations.

Therefore, it is proposed to add an article in the draft law stipulating the time limit for receiving and responding within 3 working days. The maximum time limit for advance compensation payment is 7 days; the time limit for final settlement is 30 days.

Explaining later about the situation of flight delays and cancellations, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that the objective reasons were due to weather, shortage of aircraft, broken supply chains of spare parts, limited aviation infrastructure conditions, and high operating density.

The Minister of Construction gave the example of a flight entering Tan Son Nhat airport when there is no runway, having to wait 15 minutes, even an hour in the air.

"Airlines are also very impatient and this causes environmental pollution and wastes fuel costs" - the Minister of Construction shared.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh. Photo: Quochoi.vn

According to the Minister, the bill has added regulations related to the responsibility of airlines when flights are delayed to tighten penalties and ensure passengers.

Regarding the situation of flight delays and cancellations, the Minister wishes to share. Because industry leaders and airlines do not want this to happen.

Source: https://laodong.vn/thoi-su/co-nhung-chuyen-bay-cho-dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-di-hop-bi-hoan-den-ba-lan-1608028.ldo