“I booked a 3 p.m. flight so that I could have dinner with a client. However, the airline canceled that flight and automatically rebooked me on a 7 p.m. departure,” reader Knm shared in response to a National Assembly delegate’s remark that it is unsatisfactory for airlines to offer only an apology when flights are delayed or canceled.

National Assembly deputies said that in many cases of flight delays and cancellations, there should be a mechanism for airlines to compensate customers. The issue was raised during a group discussion session on revisions to the Law on Civil Aviation on Oct. 22.

“I propose that passengers have the right to cancel their tickets, receive a full refund, and be compensated whenever the airline cancels or significantly delays a flight. Airlines now can freely change or cancel flights after collecting passengers’ money, while customers have no equivalent right,” Knm added.

Reader vinhphu172025 shared a similar story: “I had my flight delayed with a rather shocking transfer time: the 7:30 p.m. flight was postponed until 2 a.m. the next day, forcing me to stay up all night. I only received notification via text message. Families with small children traveling under such conditions are really miserable.”

Reader Dinh Tu Nguyen believes that this is not only an inconvenience but also an economic and legal issue:

“A flight delayed by several hours or canceled due to operational errors not only wastes time but also causes serious economic damage such as missed meetings, failed transactions, delayed important schedules and disrupts the lives and psychology of passengers. An apology, no matter how sincere, cannot compensate for these losses.

“Passengers are completely sympathetic to objective factors such as weather and natural disasters. However, if the flight is delayed or canceled due to factors from the airline such as management, operations, technology, lack of personnel, this is unprofessional behavior, a violation of the transportation contract and must come with a satisfactory compensation mechanism.”

Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam show that in the first nine months of this year, the on-time flight rate of the entire industry was 64.6%.

Under current regulations, compensation for long delays or cancellations on domestic flights ranges from VND200,000 to VND400,000 (US$7.60-15.20). For international flights departing from Vietnam, the compensation ranges from $25 to $150. The compensation must be provided within 14 working days from the date of the flight delay or cancellation.