The passenger is caught using a knife while aboard a flight from Tan Son Nhat Airport on July 18
The Southern Airport Authority announced on Tuesday that the staff member, whose name was not disclosed, has been temporarily suspended while they are investigating the case of a passenger using a knife to peel fruits aboard a plane, an act that violated flight safety and security regulations.
"The staff member has 13 years of experience but failed to detect the knife which was in a bag carried by an elderly woman," the Southern Airport Authority said.
According to a report from Tan Son Nhat Airport, the incident occurred at 7.58 am on July 18 on Vietnam Airlines flight VN208 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.
"A short time after taking off, a passenger saw an elderly woman cutting fruit with a knife and immediately notified the flight attendants who then gave the passenger a warning and confiscated the woman’s 20-centimetre knife," the airport reported.
The woman, who was accompanied by an elderly man, was asked to sign in a record of the incident. The case was immediately reported to the Southern Airport Authority for investigation.
Knives are prohibited from being brought into restricted airport areas and planes.
According to To Tu Hung, head of the Aviation Security Department under Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, passengers are banned from carrying razors, paper knives, knives with blades longer than six centimetres, and knives with both the handle and blade over 10 centimetres long in their carry-on luggage.
Violators are subject to a fine of VND7-10 million (USD304-434).
