From April 16 - April 20, Vietnam Airlines (VNA) was forced to cancel 21 flights from Vietnam to France, Germany, Russia and vice versa, leaving about 6,400 passengers stranded at airports. The airline has jut had an emergency meeting with ambassadors from these countries to find a solution.
Passengers waiting at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in Paris.
Among those stranded with VNA were about 1,200 in Paris (France), 620 in Frankfurt (Germany), 310 people in Moscow (Russia), and the rest are in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Currently, a VNA plane is waiting for permission to fly at the Frankfurt Airport.
On April 20, the airline authorities held an urgent meeting with the French Ambassador and German Vice Ambassador. At the meeting, Mr. Pham Ngoc Minh, VNA's General Manager, expressed hopes that the two ambassadors would help the airline have the permission to fly across Europe as soon as possible.
"Without such permission, we cannot announce a specific time and date for VNA flights to and back from Europe," Mr. Minh added.
| Answering questions about who will be given the priority to fly first, Trinh Hong Quang, Deputy General Manager of VNA said, "The elderly, sick passengers and government officials will be prioritised on resumed flights." |
Mr. Phan Xuan Duc, Deputy General Manager in charge of flights affirmed that VNA has prepared detailed plans for flights to be resumed and to help thousands of stranded passengers to get home.
Previously, after careful examinations, VNA decided to resume flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Moscow on the night of April 19.
When asked about the pressure being placed on the airline, Mr. Phan Xuan Duc said, "On April 19, we received a notice from the Russian government, demanding airlines, including VNA, to take Russian citizens back to Russia, or they would send their own Aeroflot planes to pick them up and have airlines to compensate the cost. However, we don't see it as a pressure to resume our flights to Russia. Passenger safety is our top concern."
"According to the latest information, the volcanic ash clouds are still at a height of 1,666 metres (a few days ago it was at a height of 11 kilometres). Flying through these volcanic ash clouds could cause the plane's engines to stop working," Mr. Duc said in concern.
Although the cost for flights being cancelled has not been calculated, Mr. Phan Xuan Duc estimated that the number will be substantial. VNA will work with insurance companies to determine the total damaging cost.
