Decree No. 208/2026/ND-CP of the Government on air transport, effective from July 1, 2026, clearly stipulates the responsibilities of airlines for passengers in case of flight cancellation or refusal of transportation.
At the same time, the Decree also specifically states the cases where transporters are exempt from non-refundable advance compensation.
Flight canceled, denied transportation, airline must apologize and support passengers
According to the Decree, an canceled flight is a flight that is not carried out even if at least one passenger has confirmed their seat and has a ticket. However, changing the flight number due to the requirement to ensure flight operations or at the request of a competent authority is not considered a flight cancellation.
Passengers who are refused transportation are those who already have tickets and have confirmed seats but are not accepted for transportation by the airline.
Immediately after canceling the flight or refusing transportation, the airline must promptly notify, apologize to passengers and clearly state the cause.
In case the cause originates from the airline's fault, the carrier must offer options for passengers to choose from, including changing the route, arranging another flight to the end point of the journey without collecting additional related surcharges or refunding the entire ticket price, the unused ticket.
If passengers do not choose the above options, the airline can fulfill other obligations as agreed between the two parties.
In addition, the airline is also responsible for taking care of passengers while waiting at the airport. Accordingly, passengers waiting from 2 hours or more are served drinks or equivalent service vouchers; from 3 hours or more are served meals.
For cases where the waiting time lasts from 6 hours or more, the airline must arrange suitable accommodation. If the waiting time is from 7 am to before 10 pm, passengers are arranged accommodation suitable to the actual conditions at the airport.
In case of overnight waiting, from 10 pm the previous day to before 7 am the next day, the airline must arrange accommodation suitable to the actual conditions of the locality or alternative plans if passengers agree.
In addition, passengers are also entitled to non-refundable advance compensation in case of flight cancellation or refusal of transportation due to the airline's fault.
These regulations do not apply to flights not openly sold on the ticket sales system of regular commercial air transport enterprises or flights not engaged in regular commercial air transport business.
Not all delayed and canceled flights are compensated
Decree 208/2026/ND-CP also stipulates many cases where airlines are exempt from non-refundable advance compensation obligations for passengers.
Accordingly, transporters are exempt from compensation when the flight is affected by bad weather; risk of insecurity; decisions of competent state agencies; cases of emergency or death of passengers or crew members after boarding; damaged aircraft; armed conflicts, political instability, strikes; aviation infrastructure incidents or technical incidents arising during operation.
Airlines are also exempt from compensation in cases where they have arranged or rearranged seats for passengers on other flights, ensuring that the departure time is no earlier than 2 hours compared to the canceled flight and the arrival time is no later than 4 hours compared to the original schedule.
For passengers with multiple routes or multiple flights of the same airline, the carrier is exempt from compensation if the passenger arrives at the end point of the journey late by no more than 6 hours compared to the initial estimated time.
In addition, cases where passengers do not register contact information with the airline, are transported free of charge or under preferential regimes for employees and partners, voluntarily give up seats or are refused transportation according to the provisions of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Law are also eligible for compensation exemption...
Clearly defining the responsibilities of airlines as well as cases of compensation exemption is expected to better ensure the rights of passengers, while creating a transparent legal basis for handling situations arising in air transport activities.
