Flights departing from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City experienced significant delays due to increased flight frequency and foul weather on Saturday afternoon and evening, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers for Vietnam’s National Day holiday.

Heavy rainfall between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Saturday reduced visibility and delayed flights from the airport to popular destinations in central Vietnam like Vinh, Hue, and Da Nang by around two hours.

Vietravel Airlines’ flight VU780 on the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route was delayed by one hour and 45 minutes and at risk of further delays.

Another one that was initially scheduled to leave Ho Chi Minh City for Da Lat, a tourist hotspot in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, at 5:25 pm but was cleared for takeoff at 6:20 pm.

Flight delays also caused frustration among passengers taking flights bound for Hai Phong, Phu Quoc, and Da Nang, after local airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo Airways repeatedly changed departure times from 7:00 pm to 8:50 pm.

Many passengers elaborated that they had received multiple delay notifications throughout the afternoon.

Among the affected passengers, Nguyen Thanh Quan, hailing from Phu Nhuan District in Ho Chi Minh City, and his wife arrived at the airport at 4:00 pm the same day for a flight to Phu Quoc, an island destination off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam.

The married couple’s flight was delayed until 8:00 pm the same day.

The man factored in the flight time and wait time for baggage claim, estimating that they would reach their hotel in Phu Quoc after 9:30 pm and have no time for exploring the island that day.

Another impacted passenger named Thanh Vy, who planned to fly to Da Nang City, suggested that airlines need to provide clearer information and better support so that passengers can adjust their travel plans.

The delays not only frustrated passengers but also put considerable pressure on travel agencies, forcing them to handle disgruntled customers and disrupted schedules.

As of Saturday evening, local airlines had yet to release any specific information about flights disrupted by the bad weather, even though information boards constantly featured a host of delayed flights.

Many passengers expressed their frustration of receiving continuous delay notifications without accurate information about when they would finally depart. Photo: Tuoi Tre Contributor

An airline official told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the foul weather on Saturday afternoon forced many flights to keep circling when waiting to be cleared to land, causing a chain reaction of more delays.

The airlines were trying to cope with the situation, the official said. 

The official gave an example of the impact of one delayed flight on the entire flight operations in a day. 

A flight was initially scheduled to leave Hanoi for Da Nang at 1:00 pm but was delayed by 1.5 hours. It then departed at 2:30 pm, causing over 150 passengers on that flight to experience delays.

This change also affected the Tan Son Nhat Airport, causing three other flights to have their departure times adjusted, resulting in an additional 30-minute delay per flight and impacting hundreds of other passengers.

The official pointed out that a 45-minute delay in one flight could cause a total of 4 to 5 hours of delays across subsequent flights, affecting hundreds of passengers throughout the day.

An aviation expert said that delays are undesirable for both airlines and passengers. 

Airlines sustain financial losses due to increased costs and endure the pressure of dealing with dissatisfied customers and travel agencies. 

Meanwhile, passengers suffer long waits at the airport and have to adjust their holiday plans.

The expert recommended that airlines should provide timely updates and support to passengers, offer adequate customer services, and provide reasonable compensation for affected passengers.

The Southern Airports Authority, under the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, stated that it would tighten supervision of airlines with frequent delays and propose corrective measures to ensure passengers’ rights.

Data provided by the Tan Son Nhat airport indicated that it expected to receive 644 flights with around 100,000 passengers on Saturday, the first day of the country’s four-day National Day holiday.

The airport is set to serve approximately 120,000 passengers on September 2 (National Day) and more than 125,000 on September 3.

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