Decision No. 10/2007/QD-BGTVT on compensation for non-refundable advance payments in air passenger transport

Pursuant to …;

On advance non-refundable compensation

in air passenger transport.

___________________________

MINISTER OF TRANSPORT

Pursuant to the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 34/2003/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport.

At the proposal of the Director of the Legal Affairs Department and the Director General of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Decision regulates the advance non-refundable compensation that the carrier must pay to passengers in domestic and international regular air passenger transport in Vietnam when the carrier is at fault, and the passenger has been confirmed a seat on the flight but is not transported or the flight is cancelled.

2. This Decision applies to domestic regular flights, international regular flights of Vietnamese and foreign airlines departing from Vietnam.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

1. "Advance non-refundable compensation" means compensation in the form of money, services, or other material benefits that the carrier must pay to passengers under the provisions of the law without depending on the actual determination of the passenger's loss and without being required to be refunded in any case.

2. "Passenger refused carriage" refers to a passenger who has a ticket and has been confirmed a seat on the flight but is refused transportation by the carrier.

3. "Flight cancellation" refers to the non-execution of a previously planned flight where at least one seat has been reserved.

4. "Seat confirmation" refers to the carrier's confirmation that the passenger has a seat on the flight.

Article 3. Carrier's Liability

1. The carrier shall pay advance non-refundable compensation to passengers with tickets and confirmed seats on the flight at the level prescribed in Article 4 of this Decision in cases of refusal of carriage or flight cancellation, except for cases exempted from liability as provided for in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. The carrier is exempted from the obligation to pay advance non-refundable compensation in cases of refusing carriage of passengers due to the following reasons:

 a) Due to the health condition of the passenger, the carrier recognizes that transportation or continued transportation will cause harm to the passenger, to others on the aircraft, or to the flight;

 b) To prevent the spread of disease;

 c) The passenger does not comply with the obligations of the passenger as prescribed by law;

 d) The passenger is not present to check-in at the airport or other agreed location with the carrier according to conditions published in writing by the carrier (including electronic forms);

 đ) The passenger does not comply with the regulations of the carriage rules or the terms of the carriage contract;

 e) The passenger engages in behavior disrupting public order, threatening flight safety, or affecting the lives, health, or property of others;

 g) The passenger is in a state of intoxication from alcohol or other stimulants;

 h) For aviation security reasons;

 i) The passenger voluntarily relinquishes seat confirmation upon agreement with the carrier;

 k) At the request of a competent state authority.

3. The carrier is exempted from the obligation to pay advance non-refundable compensation to passengers in cases where the carrier proves that it notified the passenger about the flight cancellation at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time or the passenger did not register a contact address or could not be contacted at the registered address.

4. The carrier is exempted from the obligation to pay advance non-refundable compensation to passengers in cases of flight cancellation due to one of the following reasons:

 a) Weather conditions affecting safe flight operations;

 b) Security risks affecting safe flight operations;

 c) The flight cannot be carried out according to the decision of a competent state authority not due to the fault of the carrier;

 d) The passenger is arranged to reach the destination according to the flight plan of the cancelled flight within a time not exceeding three hours beyond the scheduled arrival time of the confirmed flight; in the case where the destination according to the flight plan of the cancelled flight is a connecting point in the passenger's journey, the passenger is arranged to reach the final destination of the journey within a time not exceeding six hours beyond the scheduled arrival time.

 đ) Technical incidents occurring during the operation of the aircraft, from the time the aircraft commander signs off on the aircraft's readiness to execute the flight until the end of the flight;

 e) Due to armed conflict, political instability, strikes, airport closure, related service providers unable to provide services for the flight, or other force majeure situations.

5. The carrier is exempted from the obligation to pay advance non-refundable compensation in cases where the passenger is transported free of charge; the passenger is transported at a reduced fare applicable to airline employees (Industry Discount Tickets), airline agent employees (Agent Discount).

6. The carrier has the obligation to promptly accept and resolve complaints of passengers refused carriage or flight cancellation to ensure the implementation of the passengers' rights.

7. The fulfillment of the obligations prescribed in this Article does not affect the performance of other obligations of the carrier when transporting passengers as stipulated in Article 145 of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam.

Article 4. Amount of advance non-refundable compensation

1. The amount of compensation for domestic flights is as follows:

 a) Flights with a route length under 500 km: 100,000 VND;

 b) Flights with a route length from 500 km to under 1,000 km: 200,000 VND;

 c) Flights with a route length of 1,000 km or more: 300,000 VND.

2. The amount of compensation for international flights is as follows:

 a) Flights with a route length under 1,000 km: 25 USD;

 b) Flights with a route length from 1,000 km to under 2,500 km: 50 USD;

 c) Flights with a route length from 2,500 km to under 5,000 km: 80 USD;

 d) Flights with a route length of 5,000 km or more: 150 USD.

3. The carrier may stipulate the amount of advance non-refundable compensation but it must not be lower than the amounts specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 5. Announcement of Route Lengths

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall be responsible for announcing the lengths of domestic and international routes originating from Vietnam as a basis for calculating the advance non-refundable compensation amounts as set forth in Article 4 of this Decision.

Article 6. Method and Time Limit for Payment of Advance Non-Refundable Compensation

1. In cases of refusal to transport, the carrier shall have the obligation to pay compensation immediately to passengers at one of the following locations:

 a) The airport where the passenger was refused transportation;

 b) The representative office of the airline designated by the carrier in case the passenger processed their procedures at a location other than the airport as agreed with the carrier.

2. In cases of flight cancellation, according to the passenger's choice, the carrier shall have the obligation to pay compensation immediately to passengers at one of the following locations:

 a) The airport where the flight was cancelled;

 b) The representative office of the airline requested by the passenger or designated by the carrier;

 c) Into the account provided by the passenger within 14 working days from the date of flight cancellation.

3. Advance non-refundable compensation may be paid to passengers in the following forms:

 a) Cash;

 b) Bank transfer; bank cheque;

 c) Free tickets or other free services if the passenger agrees.

Article 7. Responsibilities of Airports

1. Airports shall be responsible for posting this Decision and announcing route lengths at airports; supervising the performance of carriers' obligations at airports, and requiring carriers to resolve passengers' complaints.

2. Airports shall have the obligation to report periodically monthly or ad hoc as required to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam on the implementation of supervision as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 8. Effective Date

This Decision shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 9. Implementation Organization

The Head of the Office of the Ministry, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Heads of Departments, the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Directors of Airport Authorities, Heads of agencies, units, and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.