Service facilities that sell food and drink at air terminals around the country will receive heavy penalties if they take advantage of their monopoly to charge passengers unreasonable prices, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said in its recently released directive.

The service providers should adjust their prices in accordance to their quality, and openly quote their prices for customers’ reference, the CAAV demanded.

The move came after many local and international passengers have complained that they had to buy poor quality food and drink at exorbitant prices from airports.

A typical complaint has recently spread widely among local netizens, with several foreign tourists who visited Vietnam via Cam Ranh Airport angrily labeling Vietnam’s terminals as “places that sell the world’s most terrible and expensive food.”

The airport later promised that it would review the services, but earlier this month, another grievance was voiced.

High prices, awful quality

Mr. Fredrickson, an executive of a major international tour organizer based in Ho Chi Minh City, went to the terminal to examine the service prices before his company received a delegation of tourists from the EU.

But the result was disappointing, as the prices of food and services at Cam Ranh Airport are “so bad,” he said.

A simple hamburger that is almost inedible fetches VND180,000 (US$8.65), while a bowl of instant noodles with an egg costs VND60,000.

The sandwiches, vegetables, and the meat were separated, while the water used to cook the noodle was not boiled enough, Fredrickson said.

The executive said the food has similar prices as in the EU, but the quality is terrible, unlike what Vietnamese cuisine is known for.

The tourists his company is servicing are visiting Vietnam on a charter flight, and they are willing to spend money on the country’s food and services.

But they may not dare to taste any other local dishes if the very first food they are served is from these facilities, he said.

Poor quality food is also sold at exorbitant prices at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Prior to a business trip to Da Nang, a Tuoi Tre reporter noticed that a bread simply made with a thin slice of meat and several leaves of lettuce is on sale at VND45,000 at the Sasco Shop, located in front of boarding gate No.7 at the terminal.

A dish of spaghetti with canned beef bologna costs VND79,000.

Both were carelessly prepared and tasted terrible.

The normal prices for the said food are only VND15,000 and VND45,000, respectively.