Passenger's 'grenade' claim causes delay for Ho Chi Minh City-bound flight
Monday, July 22, 2024, 19:01 GMT+7
A Vietnam Airlines flight was delayed at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang City, central Vietnam on Sunday afternoon after a passenger claimed that a grenade was in their baggage.
The incident took place on the Ho Chi Minh City-bound flight VN 131, initially scheduled to take off at 3:25 pm.
After the passenger Nguyen Thanh Ph., whose seat was 28A, uttered the phrase 'grenade in the suitcase,' a crew member immediately alerted the airport’s aviation security center at 3:15 pm.
A team of airport agencies rushed to the scene to get the passengers deplaned and conduct a thorough search of the aircraft and all of the passengers’ baggage from 4:10 pm to 4:40 pm, but they did not find any suspicious objects.
At around 4:45 pm, the Middle Airports Authority agreed with a representative of Vietnam Airlines on allowing the passengers to return to the plane.
The flight departed at 5:15 pm the same day.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thanh Ph. was handed over to the Middle Airports Authority for further steps.
As per Vietnam's Decree 162/2018 stipulating administrative fines in the civil aviation sector, one will be fined VND3-5 million (US$117-196) for spreading or providing false information linked to guns, bullets, mines, explosives, radioactive substances, biological and chemical weapons but their acts do not affect the normal operations of civil aviation.
Fines ranging between VND15 million ($589) and VND20 million ($785) will be imposed on those who make similar claims that affect normal operations of the sector.
If their claims threaten the safety of a flying aircraft and passengers on board, they will face fines of between VND20 million and VND30 million ($1,177).
According to the Vietnamese government’s Decree 92/2015, disruptive passengers will be subject to a flight ban over a course of 3-12 months for making threats related to bombs, mines, explosives, radioactive substances, and biological weapons while conducting flight procedures and boarding a plane.
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