Aviation "delays" too much, compensation needs to be legalized

Clear standards needed for international airports

On the morning of October 22, the National Assembly discussed in groups the draft Law on Civil Aviation of Vietnam (amended).

Commenting on the draft law, National Assembly delegate Le Huu Tri ( Khanh Hoa delegation) affirmed that, at this point, replacing the law is absolutely necessary to meet new development requirements. Delegate Le Huu Tri pointed out three major problems in the aviation industry today.

Accordingly, the situation of "too many airports" and unreasonable planning. Mr. Tri expressed concern about the dense number of airports in Vietnam.

"Although our country is not large and the population is not large, we have too many airports. Some provinces even have 2 airports, and in the future there will be provinces with 3 airports," said the delegate.

Hàng không — National Assembly Delegate Le Huu Tri (Khanh Hoa Delegation) said that there are currently "too many airports" and the planning is unreasonable.

Delegate Tri pointed out that there are provinces that are only a short distance apart but both have airports, while other means of transport could be used more efficiently. He said this issue should be reconsidered in the national master plan to avoid wasting resources.

According to the delegate, the title "international airport" does not correspond to reality. Many small-scale airports with limited infrastructure (short runways, small and narrow terminals) are still called international airports.

"Everywhere is an international airport... even one that only receives one flight a day is an international airport," said delegate Tri.

Delegates suggested that there should be clear standards for international airports, improving service quality and facilities to match the name, and avoiding the situation of "internationalization" in a formal way.

Too much "delay"

Regarding aviation discipline and the constant delay, delegate Le Huu Tri said that the "delay" situation happens too often, showing that "our aviation discipline is not serious".

According to delegates, this not only causes inconvenience, wastes time and money for passengers and society, but also affects the national image.

"I think that the seriousness of our aviation industry is not good at the moment. Delays are continuous, the delay time is longer than the departure time, increasing social costs," the delegate affirmed and compared with other countries, where flight time discipline is strictly enforced. The delegate said that this situation also forms a habit of lack of seriousness among passengers.

To address the above shortcomings, delegate Le Huu Tri proposed that the amended law should have specific regulations to overcome the lack of discipline in the industry.

The delegate stressed the need to encourage and expand participation of non-state entities, including foreign ones, in aviation activities. According to him, this will create a healthy competitive environment in terms of price and service quality, thereby promoting the overall development of the industry.

Delegates cited the fact that sometimes domestic airfares are even higher than international flights to Thailand or Singapore, which reduces the attractiveness of domestic tourism .

Also speaking on this issue, delegate Dang Thi My Huong - Deputy Head of the Khanh Hoa delegation suggested paying more attention to legalizing regulations on passenger rights and improving the quality of aviation services. Protecting passengers is protecting national prestige and enhancing the image of Vietnam.

Delegates proposed to clearly define the right to information, support, and compensation in cases of flight delays, cancellations, and lost luggage. Legalize the responsibility to publicly disclose ticket prices, surcharges, and refund conditions to avoid hidden fees.

Sharing the same opinion with delegate Huong, delegate Tran Dinh Chung (Da Nang delegation) said that it is necessary to legalize compensation for customers in cases of flight delays and cancellations.

According to Mr. Chung, it is necessary to clearly stipulate compensation for customers in cases of flight delays or missed flights that are not due to the customer's fault, not due to force majeure (natural disasters, epidemics), but due to the fault of the aircraft manager and operator.

"Notification of flight delays due to late arrival of aircraft, operational reasons... this is not the fault of the customer but the fault of the unit managing and using the aircraft. There needs to be clear and transparent regulations on compensation for customers. For example, the amount of time that must be compensated for the delay needs to be regulated in circulars and guiding decrees," Mr. Chung stated his opinion.

Speaking at the meeting, explaining the situation of flight delays and cancellations, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that currently, each flight is delayed on average from 15 minutes to 1 hour, leading to huge fuel consumption. The main reason is that the airport infrastructure has not met international standards. The Minister gave an example, Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports have not yet ensured the standard distance (minimum 1,350m between the take-off and landing runways). Long Thanh airport under construction has overcome this situation, meeting international standards, in a modern direction.

Source: https://vtv.vn/hang-khong-delay-qua-nhieu-can-luat-hoa-viec-boi-thuong-100251022115830107.htm