National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) last week asked nearly seven dozen passengers boarding a flight from Japan to Vietnam to leave their luggage at an airport in Tokyo to ensure flight safety, the airline said Wednesday.

All the baggage, including 177 units, were handed over to 80 passengers of the VN385 flight from Haneda Airport in Tokyo to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi one day after the incident which occurred on Saturday, Le Truong Giang, a VNA spokesperson, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The luggage had to be left in the foreign land for one day due to regulations issued by Haneda Airport, Giang explained.   

According to the regulations, VNA flights use short runways for landing and take-off so they must comply with the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) limit.

As flight VN385, which was filled with passengers, had to deal with strong crosswinds, Vietnam Airlines decided to ask the passengers to do so to ensure sufficient fuel for the direct flight.

Since the airline only operates one service on the Tokyo-Hanoi route per day, all the luggage could only be transported back home a day later, Giang said.

The carrier will flexibly operate its flights from Haneda to Noi Bai if the Japanese airport’s operator gives the green light for VNA aircraft to use longer runways, the spokesperson added.

If it has to carry all passengers and luggage to Noi Bai in the face of strong crosswinds, VNA will alter the flight route for a stopover in Taipei (Taiwan) for refueling before heading home, Giang said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!