It was chaos at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City last night (February 12) after hundreds of intending passengers were left stranded in an as yet unexplained foul up in scheduling by Vietnam Airlines.
Passengers waiting at Tan Son Nhat Airport
More than 100 passengers of three flights from HCM City to Hanoi, Vinh and Danang had to wait for hours at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Crowds of passengers began swelling at the airport from early afternoon as travelers tried to begin their Tet holiday journeys.
The passengers said they had bought their tickets weeks ago but when they arrived at the airport, they were told that their flights had been delayed or overbooked.
Cuong, a passenger on the flight from HCM City to Hanoi, said he came two hours earlier than the flight time. After waiting for a long time at the airport, he asked a staff from Vietnam Airlines and was told that the flight was already full and had departed.
The staff did not provide any clear information or reasons, with passengers being shuffled from one staff member to another, but they could still not get any clear information about what was happening.
Angry passengers argued with airline ground staff. Several scuffles broke out. Security was mobilised to keep passengers, some with young families expecting to begin their Tet holiday having waited more than 10 hours, away from airline staff.
Waiting for delayed flights
According to one staff of Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam Airlines is allowed to sell 30 percent more seats than are available, to cover the likelihood of no-shows, resulting in many flights being overbooked.
Some passengers wanted to meet Vietnam Airlines' leaders but their demands were not met.
At 10pm, Vietnam Airlines' representatives arrived but gave no clear information. They offered hotel rooms and meals until more flights could be arranged to get intending passengers to their destinations over the following 48 hours.
The head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Lai Xuan Thanh, said the authority would investigate what happened.
Managers of Vietnam Airlines advised intending passengers to check-in three hours ahead of flights.
