Last week, a group of 15 people including Mr. Ba Ngoc (Dong Da, Hanoi) traveled to Da Nang. The flight was scheduled to depart at 2:30 p.m., but when they were queuing up to check in, the airline suddenly announced a delay until 4 p.m., then continued to delay until 4:30 p.m. In fact, the plane took off at 5 p.m., more than 2 hours later than scheduled.
"We had booked a pick-up in Da Nang , booked a restaurant for dinner, and scheduled a tour for the next day. Being 2 hours late like that completely disrupted our entire plan," said Mr. Ngoc.
According to Mr. Ngoc, the airline provided each passenger with a portion of rice and water. "It was long past lunchtime, my group was full of elderly people and children, no one was in the mood to eat anymore, just wanted to fly on time," he said indignantly.
A similar situation happened to Ms. Bao Anh (Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi) on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Her flight was scheduled to depart at 2:00 p.m. but was repeatedly delayed. From 2:00 p.m. to 2:35 p.m., then from 2:35 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and then again from 3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
"I waited for more than an hour without knowing for sure when the flight would be. Each time the announcement was made, it was only a few dozen minutes, so I didn't dare leave the boarding gate area. But in the end, I still had to wait longer. When a passenger reacted strongly, the airline announced it on the screen of the boarding counter," Ms. Bao Anh shared.
Ms. Thu Hong (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) shared her "unforgettable" experience on the Vietjet flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on June 5. After completing the boarding procedures, she and other passengers had to wait in the cabin for nearly an hour due to technical reasons.
Airlines must notify promptly when there is a delay of 15 minutes or more (Photo: Nam Anh).
Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, a representative of an airline said that adjusting operations during peak times is inevitable. The airline also regretted having to change operations due to force majeure and hoped to receive sympathy from passengers.
In addition, the rainy and stormy season has now begun, which may change passengers’ travel plans and affect airlines’ punctuality. However, the aviation industry always puts operational safety first, with absolute safety for passengers and crew being the number one priority.
According to regulations of the Ministry of Construction (formerly the Ministry of Transport), airlines must promptly notify when there is a delay of 15 minutes or more. If the airline is delayed by 2 hours or more, passengers have the right to change flights without incurring a fee. If the delay is 4 hours or more, the airline must compensate in cash. If the delay is 5 hours or more, passengers have the right to request a full refund of the ticket price.
Compensation ranges from VND200,000-400,000 for domestic flights and from USD25-150 for international flights. Normally, compensation is processed by the airline within 14 days.
However, in reality, many passengers say they are not fully informed of their rights. Airlines often apply a compensation policy in the form of vouchers or food and drinks instead of cash.
According to the latest statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, in April, the average on-time performance (OTP) of the entire industry reached 57.5%. Of which, Bamboo Airways was the most punctual airline with an OTP of 80.8%. Next, Pacific Airlines, VASCO and Vietravel Airlines recorded on-time performance of 80%, 72.8% and 71.5%, respectively.
Vietnam Airlines has an on-time flight rate of 69%, while Vietjet operates 43.3% of flights on time.
Also in April, the industry had 0.6% of flights canceled, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The airlines with the highest cancellation rates were VASCO (2% of flights canceled), Pacific Airlines (1.1% of flights canceled) and Vietravel Airlines (1% of flights canceled).
The two major domestic airlines, Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines, recorded cancellation rates of 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Bamboo Airways was the only airline that did not cancel any flights.
According to information from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, during the peak summer period of 2025 (from May 15 to August 15), domestic airlines are expected to operate 68,558 flights (an average of 745 flights/day).
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/hanh-khach-ngoi-tren-dong-lua-vi-chuyen-bay-lien-tuc-lui-gio-mua-cao-diem-20250607171327642.htm
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