Myanmar - Thailand earthquake forces many Vietnamese flights to turn back

(PLVN) - The 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand on March 28 affected the operations of Vietnamese airlines, with some flights from Vietnam to Bangkok being disrupted.

According to information from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, at 2:09 p.m. on March 28, the Flight Coordination Information Center (under the Air Traffic Management Center, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation) received a report from the Ho Chi Minh Area Control Center (ACC HCM) that two major airports in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi (VTBS) and Don Muong (VTBD), had temporarily stopped accepting flight operations to ensure safety after the earthquake.

These are two airports where airlines from Vietnam are operating regular flights.

Immediately after receiving the report from the Flight Coordination Information Center, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam directed the synchronous implementation of air traffic flow management (ATFM) measures, requiring airlines to strictly comply with calculated take-off time (CTOT) and coordination requirements from Thailand.

For flights arriving at VTBS airport, apply CTOT (Calculated Take-Off Time) measure for aircraft departing to this airport and require airlines and ATFM units to strictly comply with the issued CTOT.

For flights arriving at VTBD airport, a minimum departure interval (MDI) of 5 minutes/flight applies to flights departing from the same airport.

In the absence of CTOT, continue to apply 5-minute MDI/flight to control air traffic flow.

Vietnam's Air Traffic Control Center has urgently deployed the CTOT time provided by Thailand to airlines departing from Vietnam, and at the same time notified Vietnam's Air Traffic Control Stations (TWR) at airports with flights to Bangkok, ensuring that airlines comply with regulations.

According to statistics, the affected flights include: Vietnam Airlines flight VN610 (Hanoi - Bangkok) had to turn back to refuel and wait for assessment from the airport authorities, then took off at 14:55 local time; Thai AirAsia flight AIQ637 (Da Nang - Bangkok) was delayed compared to the plan, then departed at 14:59 local time.

Many other flights were not affected, including VN615 (Hanoi - Bangkok) of Vietnam Airlines, BAV323 (HCMC - Bangkok) of Bamboo Airways, and VAG131 (HCMC - Bangkok) of Vietravel Airlines.

According to the latest announcement from the Bangkok Air Traffic Control Center, flight operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport were restored at 3:00 p.m., and Don Muang Airport at 3:02 p.m. (local time).

Currently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has directed the Air Traffic Management Center to continue to closely monitor the situation and distribute to relevant agencies to ensure safety and efficiency for bay operations in the area...

Thanh Ha

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/dong-dat-myanmar-thai-lan-khien-khong-it-chuyen-bay-viet-nam-phai-quay-dau-post543870.html