Vietnam’s aviation authorities have imposed a nine-month ban on a Vietnamese man after he failed to pay a fine for smoking on a domestic flight last month.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said on Friday that Dao Duy Khuong, a 26-year-old resident of Hai Ba Trung District in Hanoi, has been banned from domestic and international flights for nine months, from September 15 through June 14, 2023.

Khuong smoked on the plane before the departure of a flight operated by Vietravel Airlines from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City that was scheduled to take off at 4:35 pm on August 1.

He was immediately escorted from the plane and handed over to the Northern Airports Authority, which issued an administrative fine against him a day later.

Despite several reminders and warnings, he refused to pay the fine.

The CAAV thus decided to impose the nine-month flight ban on Khuong and asked domestic and foreign airlines not to provide their services for the man during the ban.

Airports are responsible for directing their units and departments to closely check documents and IDs of passengers.

Smoking cigarettes, even electronic ones, is banned on all inbound and outbound flights in Vietnam.

Administrative fines imposed on violators, which range from VND3 million (US$127) to VND5 million $212, must be paid within ten days after the punitive decision is made.

Before departure, flight attendants always remind passengers not to smoke on board.

Despite that, smoking is among the most popular violations reported on the country’s recent flights, with many violators ignoring the fine, leading to the flight ban.

Last month, a 23-year-old man from northern Hai Duong Province was handed a nine-month flight ban for failure to pay a smoking fine.

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