What are the obligations of air transport businesses when flights are delayed

Legal Consulting Office of Lao Dong Newspaper answers:

Clause 25, Article 2, Vietnam Civil Aviation Law stipulates: The carrier is an air transport business including the actual carrier and the contract carrier.

Article 36, Decree 208/2026/ND-CP Regulations on air transport (effective from July 1, 2026) stipulates the obligations of the carrier to passengers in case of flight delays as follows:

2. A delayed flight is a flight whose actual departure time is 15 minutes later than the departure time according to the base flight schedule. A prolonged delayed flight is a flight delayed from 04 hours compared to the departure time according to the base flight schedule.

3. When the carrier expects a flight to be delayed, the carrier is obliged to:

a) Timely notification, apology to passengers and stating the reason for the flight delay;

b) Update the expected new departure time for airport operators and passenger terminal service providers to display flight information on the airport screen with a frequency of at least 30 minutes/time.

4. For flights delayed from 02 hours or more:

a) Serving drinking water or providing vouchers of equivalent value to passengers;

b) Within the scope of the carrier's service provision, the carrier is responsible for changing the travel time (re-booking) or changing the itinerary (re-route) so that passengers reach the end point of the journey when requested, except for restrictions on itinerary change or flight change and related surcharges (if any) for passengers in case of flight delays due to the carrier's fault.

5. For flights delayed from 03 hours or more, the carrier is obliged to serve food or provide vouchers of equivalent value and shall comply with the provisions of Clause 4 of this Article;

6. For flights delayed from 04 hours or more, the carrier is obliged to:

a) Implemented according to the provisions of Clause 5 of this Article;

b) Refund (refund) the entire ticket price or refund the unused ticket part when passengers do not agree to implement the provisions in point b, clause 4 of this Article;

c) Non-refundable advance compensation for passengers who have confirmed seats and have tickets on the flight. Non-refundable advance compensation is only implemented once for each flight, including cases of flight delays in the cabin specified in Article 38 of this Decree;

d) The provisions in points b and c of this clause only apply to cases of flight delays due to the fault of the carrier.

7. For flights delayed from 06 hours or more, the carrier is obliged to:

a) Implemented according to the provisions of Clause 6 of this Article;

b) In case the delay time is between 07:00 and before 10:00 PM, accommodation must be arranged in accordance with the actual conditions of the airport. In case the delay time is between 10:00 PM the previous day and before 07:00 AM the next day, accommodation must be arranged in accordance with the actual conditions of the locality or alternative solutions if approved by passengers;

c) The provisions of point b of this clause do not apply in cases where passengers accept ticket refunds.

8. The regulations on the obligations of the carrier to ensure food, drinks, and accommodation for passengers in this Article only apply to passengers with tickets, confirmed seats, and present at the airport.

Thus, from July 1, 2026, the obligations of air transport businesses to passengers in case of flight delays are implemented as above.