Even at the beginning of summer, the fear of plane delays has already become a concern.

Passengers waiting for their flight at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Waiting from the ground up to the sky

Having booked a Vietjet flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong for a business trip on June 9th, Ms. Ha Thanh (residing in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) planned to catch the 5:15 PM flight immediately after arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport from Singapore to make it to her 8:00 PM appointment with colleagues in Hai Phong. Fortunately, the flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City departed on time, landing at Tan Son Nhat at 3:10 PM as scheduled. Without having to wait for checked baggage and having already completed online check-in, Ms. Ha Thanh only spent an additional 45 minutes on the immigration process and transferring to the domestic terminal, ready for her next flight.

Waiting until 4:45 PM to board the plane as announced by the airline, Ms. Thanh was surprised to read on the bulletin board that the flight would be delayed due to a late arrival of the aircraft; the new departure time was 6:10 PM, almost an hour late. Continuing to wait anxiously, it wasn't until nearly 6:20 PM that airline staff began opening the boarding gates for passengers.

"By the time all the passengers were seated and settled on the plane, it was almost 7 PM. But just as the plane started moving a little, the pilot announced over the loudspeaker that due to congestion at Tan Son Nhat airport, the plane would have to wait on the runway for another 10 minutes. At that point, I saw three other planes lined up on the taxiway waiting to take off. Finally, we didn't take off until almost 7:30 PM, more than two hours late. I arrived back at the hotel after 10 PM, the party over. I rushed back from abroad to make it on time, only to end up being late at the domestic airport. What a loss of time!" - Ms. Ha Thanh lamented.

Almost a week ago, Mr. Chi Kien (residing in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) flying with Vietnam Airlines from Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh City also received an extra 30 minutes of time in the air because the runway at Tan Son Nhat airport was congested, and there was no space for the plane to land. Among Mr. Kien's group were other passengers who were in a hurry to handle urgent company matters, so they were impatient and frustrated while waiting in the air: "Airfare is expensive now, and there are all sorts of delays. Passengers who are even one minute late are left behind, while a plane delayed for several hours is simply dismissed with an apology. It's truly frustrating to pay money and still end up annoyed."

As tourism enters its peak summer season, so does the peak season for airline delays.

Thousands of delayed flights, but it's still not peak season?

According to statistics, from June 1st to 11th, Tan Son Nhat Airport recorded 740 delayed domestic flights. Vietjet topped the list with 356 delayed flights, followed by Vietnam Airlines with 260, Pacific Airlines with 78, Bamboo Airways with 31 delayed flights, Vasco with 10, and Vietravel Airlines with the fewest flights, resulting in the lowest number of delays at only 5. Including international flights, a total of 915 delayed flights were recorded in less than half of June.

In fact, the issue of flight delays had already started to become a major concern in mid-May. At that time, the head of the Southern Aviation Authority stated that every year when the rainy season arrives, Tan Son Nhat Airport has to "stretch itself" to alleviate congestion. Without safe weather conditions, planes may have to circle in the air and be unable to land. A delayed flight will have a chain reaction, causing delays to subsequent flights or flights departing from other airports. The terminal area will also be under pressure due to the large number of passengers waiting to fly.

"Heavy rain often occurs in the afternoon, coinciding with rush hour, so Tan Son Nhat Airport will experience triple congestion: congestion in the air, congestion at the terminal, and blockages on connecting transportation routes," the leader of the Southern Aviation Authority further informed.

Since summer coincides with Ho Chi Minh City's rainy season, the rate of flight delays is expected to increase, affecting passengers and the terminal, and causing congestion at certain times. Therefore, relevant units have been instructed to develop flood prevention plans and contingency plans in case bad weather affects flight operations. Simultaneously, they are to coordinate promptly in disseminating flight information during peak hours to regulate and allocate resources, as well as enhance communication and review of flight slots to ensure optimal utilization of terminal capacity.

Representatives of Tan Son Nhat International Airport

However, data on delayed flights at Tan Son Nhat Airport indicates that the number of delayed flights due to weather conditions in the first half of June accounted for a very small percentage – 28 out of 740 flights. The majority were due to delayed aircraft arrivals and crew issues. Notably, representatives from Tan Son Nhat Airport stated that the peak summer season service plan runs from June 1st to August 15th, but currently, passenger numbers have not seen a significant increase. It is projected that throughout the summer of 2023, Tan Son Nhat Airport will serve nearly 24 million passengers on over 150,000 flights, representing a 7.6% increase in passenger volume and a 6.64% increase in flights compared to the summer of 2022. Passenger traffic will be concentrated in both directions, arriving and departing.

Even before the hottest part of summer, flights are already experiencing constant delays. Who knows how much more terrifying the "delay" nightmare will become when everyone rushes to travel?

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/moi-chom-he-da-am-anh-may-bay-delay-185230613094305699.htm