A flight was postponed when it was about to take off this morning when a passenger lit a napkin.
Passengers on the VN243 flight on November 2.
According to director of the Northern Airports Authority, Tran Hoai Phuong, the Vietnam Airlines flight VN243 was about to take off at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport heading to Ho Chi Minh City at 8.30 am when a male passenger lit his lighter and burned a napkin.
"The crew immediately stopped the taking-off and reported the incident to the airport's authorities," Phuong said. "The captain then took the plane back for an investigation."
The airport authority official said that the passenger had "threatened flight safety and would be dealt with based on the Government Decree 162."
"The passenger was requested to leave the flight," he added. "He then told the airport authorities that he used the napkin to clean his lighter and accidentally turned on the lighter and the napkin caught fire."
We are further investigating the case," the official said.
A representative from Vietnam Airlines told Dantri that the incident did not cause any damage or harm other passengers and the flight then took off at 9 am.