VietNamNet Bridge – Passengers on flights delayed by 15 minutes or more will be provided with drinks, food or accommodation from December 1 this year.

The waiting lounge for passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City. Passengers on flights that are delayed at least 15 minutes will be provided with basic services, including drinks, food or accommodation, from December 1.

This follows a circular recently issued by the Ministry of Transport.

The move was made in response to recent complaints about the increased number of delayed and cancelled flights.

The range of services will relate to the length of the delay. For example, passengers on flights delayed by three hours or more will be entitled to a meal.

Those on flights delayed by six hours or more will be supplied with meals and accommodation, depending on the facilities available at each airport.

Under the circular, passengers on delayed flights get preference for the earliest substitute flights.

Airlines will also have to apologise to passengers for delays and explain what caused them and when the next flight will be.

However, passengers on flights delayed by bad weather and security reasons will not be entitled to the new deal.

According to figures from the Civil Aviation Authority, exactly 2,057 or 13.8 per cent of the 14,942 flights to and from Viet Nam in August 2014 were delayed.

The Civil Aviation Authority has submitted a draft of another circular to the Ministry of Transport that requires aviation companies to provide compensation for passengers on flights delayed by more than four hours. The current regulation requires compensation only for cancelled flights.

If the circular is approved, customers on domestic flights cancelled or delayed by more than four hours will receive VND200,000 (US$9.50) for a flight that is less than 500km, VND300,000 ($14) for a flight of 500 to 1,000km, and VND400,000 ($19) for a flight of more than 1,000km.

However, the compensation rate for international flights will remain unchanged at $25 for a delayed and cancelled flight of less than 1,000km, $50 for a flight of 1,000 to 2,500km, $80 for a flight of 2,5000 to 5,000km, and $150 for a flight of more than 5,000km.

VNS/VNN