Circular No. 19/2023/TT-BGTVT Amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain Articles of Circulars related to air cargo transportation

CIRCULAR

Amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain articles of circulars related to air cargo transportation

relating to air cargo transportation

Pursuant to the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam dated June 29, 2006 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Some Articles of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam dated November 21, 2014;

BASED ON THE DECREE NO. 56/2022/ND-CP dated August 24, 2022 of THE GOVERNMENT stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT;

Pursuant to Decree No. 66/2015/NĐ-CP dated August 12, 2015, issued by the Government on Civil Aviation Authority;

PURSUANT TO THE PROPOSAL OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE VIETNAM CIVIL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION;

The Minister of Transport issuesCircular amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain articles of circulars related to air cargo transportation.

Article 1. Amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain articles of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014, issued by the Minister of Transport on air cargo transportation and common aviation activities (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT).

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT as follows:

"2. The minimum obligations of the carrier towards passengers who have been confirmed seats and hold tickets for the flight in case of delayed transportation, cancelled flights, early departures, or passengers not being transported due to the carrier's fault."

2. Amending and supplementing Article 8 of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT, which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 4, Article 1 of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT dated September 28, 2020, amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014, issued by the Minister of Transport on air cargo transportation and common aviation activities, Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015, issued by the Minister of Transport on advance non-refundable compensation in passenger air transportation, and Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016, issued by the Minister of Transport on reporting activities and data in civil aviation in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT) as follows:

"Article 8. The minimum obligations of the carrier towards passengers who have been confirmed seats and hold tickets for the flight in case of delayed transportation, cancelled flights, early departures, or passengers not being transported due to the carrier's fault.

1. Airlines have the responsibility to immediately notify passengers about changes in the departure time of the flight.

2. A delayed flight is a flight with an actual departure time more than 15 minutes later than the planned departure time in the schedule.

3. In cases where the delay is not due to the passenger's fault, the carrier must provide and update full information to passengers through appropriate means; apologize to passengers; ensure meals, rest, travel, and cover other directly related expenses during the waiting period at the airport as stipulated in the Transportation Regulations and must ensure the quality of passenger services at the airport according to the regulations of the Minister of Transport.

4. In cases where the delay is due to the carrier's fault, in addition to the obligations set out in Clause 3 of this Article, the carrier shall be responsible for performing additional obligations towards passengers as follows:

a) For flights delayed by two hours or more: within the scope of services provided by the carrier, transfer the passenger to an appropriate route or switch to another flight to reach the final destination, exempt the conditions limiting route transfers or flight changes and related surcharges (if any) for the passenger;

b) For flights delayed by five hours or more: if the passenger does not request the carrier to fulfill the obligations as prescribed in Point a of this Clause but requests a refund of the ticket price, the carrier shall refund the entire ticket price or refund the unused portion of the ticket price according to the passenger's choice at the airport or at designated sales offices, branches, or agents;

c) For extended delays: in addition to the obligations prescribed in Points a or b of this Clause when requested by the passenger, the carrier must compensate the passenger who has been confirmed seats and holds tickets for the flight according to the regulations on advance non-refundable compensation in passenger air transportation issued by the Minister of Transport.

5. A cancelled flight is the non-execution of a flight whose booking and sale schedule has been published on the carrier's reservation and ticketing system (CRS) within 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

6. In cases where passengers are not transported due to the carrier's fault and in cases where flights are cancelled without prior notification from the carrier, in addition to the obligations set out in Clause 3 of this Article, the carrier must perform the following obligations towards passengers:

a) Compensate passengers who have been confirmed seats and hold tickets for the flight according to the regulations on advance non-refundable compensation in passenger air transportation issued by the Minister of Transport;

b) Within the scope of services provided by the carrier, transfer the passenger to an appropriate route or switch to another flight to reach the final destination, exempt the conditions limiting route transfers or flight changes and related surcharges (if any) for the passenger;

c) If the passenger refuses to apply Point b of this Clause, the carrier shall refund the entire ticket price or refund the unused portion of the ticket price according to the passenger's choice at the airport or at designated sales offices, branches, or agents;

d) If the passenger refuses to apply Points b and c of this Clause, the carrier may fulfill other obligations agreed upon with the passenger.

7. An early departure flight is a flight that departs earlier than 15 minutes before the planned departure time in the schedule.

8. In case of the carrier's fault, where passengers have been confirmed seats but are not transported and do not receive notice of early departure time change or do not agree with the early departure time change, the carrier shall be responsible for performing the obligations prescribed in Clause 6 of this Article.

9. The refunding of tickets for passengers in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall be applied as follows:

a) Exemption from the conditions restricting refunds and refund fees (if any);

b) For entirely unused tickets, the refund amount shall be equal to the ticket price paid by the passenger; the ticket price includes: service transportation costs; taxes and fees stipulated by the State; passenger security service costs; baggage security service costs; airport terminal passenger service costs collected on behalf of the airline; other surcharges related to the legal invoice provided by the passenger;

c) For partially used tickets, the refund amount shall not be less than the difference between the ticket price paid and the ticket price, and other services already used for the passenger's journey."

3. Amend and supplement Article 14 of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 9 of Article 1 of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT as follows:

"Article 14. Procedures for Issuing Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificates

1. Vietnamese enterprises registering their own air waybill secondary shall submit one set of application registration documents for air waybill secondary to the Civil Aviation Port Authority through direct submission, postal service, electronic environment, or other methods, and shall bear responsibility for the accuracy of the information in the documents. The documents include:

a) A request letter according to the model prescribed in Appendix IX issued together with this Circular;

b) The air waybill secondary of the freight forwarder enterprise.

2. Vietnamese enterprises registering air waybill secondary of foreign freight forwarders shall submit one set of application registration documents for air waybill secondary to the Civil Aviation Port Authority through direct submission, postal service, electronic environment, or other methods, and shall bear responsibility for the accuracy of the information in the documents. The documents include:

a) A request letter according to the model prescribed in Appendix X issued together with this Circular;

b) The air waybill secondary of the foreign freight forwarder enterprise.

3. Within three working days from the date of receipt of complete documents as prescribed, the Civil Aviation Port Authority shall be responsible for examining and deciding to issue the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate according to the model prescribed in Appendix XIV issued together with this Circular. In case of refusal to issue the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate, the reasons must be stated in writing.

If the application documents for issuing the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate are incomplete as prescribed, within one working day from the date of receipt of the documents, the Civil Aviation Port Authority shall issue a written guidance to the applicant to complete the documents. The processing time will be calculated from the date of receipt of complete documents as prescribed. The results will be delivered at the Civil Aviation Port Authority office or through postal service, electronic environment, or other appropriate methods as prescribed.

4. Enterprises applying for issuance of the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate shall pay the fee as prescribed by law. The time taken by the applicant to pay the fee shall not be included in the administrative procedure processing time.

5. The Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate shall be valid from the date of issuance and shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) The enterprise ceases to operate air waybill secondary for six consecutive months from the date of issuance of the Certificate without notifying the issuing authority;

b) Other cases as decided by the competent state agency.

6. In case the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate is revoked, the Civil Aviation Port Authority shall decide to revoke the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate and the enterprise must immediately cease air waybill secondary operations. In case the Civil Aviation Port Authority decides to revoke the Air Waybill Secondary Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration previously, it shall notify the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration for monitoring."

4. Repeal Clause 7 of Article 21 of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT.

5. Replace Appendices IX and X issued together with Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT which have been amended and supplemented at Appendices IV and V issued together with Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT with Appendices I and II respectively issued together with this Circular.

6. Replace Appendix XIV issued together with Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT which has been supplemented at Appendix VII issued together with Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT with Appendix III respectively issued together with this Circular.

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015, issued by the Minister of Transport on advance non-refundable compensation in air passenger transport (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT).

1. Amend and supplement Article 2 of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT dated August 25, 2017, amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT dated August 29, 2014, issued by the Minister of Transport on quality of passenger services at airports and Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015, issued by the Minister of Transport on advance non-refundable compensation in air passenger transport (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT) as follows:

"Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

1. Advance non-refundable compensation is the compensation in the form of money or other appropriate forms that the carrier must pay to passengers in cases prescribed by law regardless of the actual level of damage suffered by the passengers.

2. A refused passenger is a passenger who has a ticket and has been confirmed a seat on the flight but is refused transportation by the carrier.

3. Actual Off Block Time (AOBT) is the actual time when the aircraft is pushed back or begins moving from its parking position.

4. A delayed flight is a flight with an actual departure time more than four hours later than the planned departure time in the reference flight schedule.

5. The carrier is the airline operating the flights.

6. Seat confirmation is the carrier's confirmation that the passenger has a seat on the flight.

7. Reference flight schedule is the flight schedule of the airline updated to 22:00 (Hanoi time) in the airport operator's data system on the day before the scheduled operation date.

2. Replace the term "take off" with the term "departure" at Clause 5, Point 7 of Article 4 of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 1 of Article 2 of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT, Point a of Clause 4 of Article 9 and Clause 3 of Article 10 of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT.

Article 3. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016, issued by the Minister of Transport on reporting activities and data in the civil aviation industry of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT).

1. Replace the term "take off" with the term "departure" at Point a of Clause 2 of Article 4 of Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 1 of Article 3 of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT.

2. Amend Point e of Clause 4 of Article 4 as follows:

"e) Report daily delay and cancellation data according to Model HHK-6 attached to this Circular: data from 00:00 to 23:59 (Hanoi time), report before 15:00 on the next day, including: report to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam: total airport network data; report to the Air Traffic Control Unit or the representative of the Air Traffic Control Unit at the airport and the airport operator: data corresponding to each airport;"

3. Supplement Clause 6b of Article 4 as follows:

"6b) The airport operator reports data to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and the Air Traffic Control Unit including:

Daily report of delays and cancellations of domestic airlines at airports according to Model CHK-01 attached to this Circular: data from 00:00 to 23:59 (Hanoi time), report before 09:00 on the second day following the reporting day."

4. Replace and supplement the models attached to the Appendix of Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT as follows:

a) Replace Models HK-1, HK-2, HK-3, HK-4, CV-2, CV-3, CV-4, CV-5, QLB-1, QLB-2, QLB-3, QLB-4, QLB-5, HHK-1, HHK-2, HHK-3, HHK-4, HHK-5, HHK-6, HHK-7, HHK-8, XDHK, PVMĐ with the corresponding models numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 of Appendix IV attached to this Circular;

b) Replace Models CV-1, QLB-6 which have been replaced at Clause 3 of Article 3 of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT with the corresponding models numbered 5, 15 of Appendix IV attached to this Circular;

c) Supplement Model CHK-01 to the Appendix attached to Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT with model number 26 of Appendix IV attached to this Circular.

Article 4. Amending and supplementing certain phrases of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT dated August 29, 2014 of the Minister of Transport on the quality of passenger services at airports.

Replace the phrase "take off" with the phrase "departure" at Point d Clause 2 Article 5 of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 6 Article 1 of Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT, Point c Clause 1 Article 6 of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT, Point a Clause 2 Article 7 of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 10 Article 1 of Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT, Clause 2 Article 10 of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT which has been amended and supplemented at Clause 14 Article 1 of Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT.

Article 5. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 1, 2023.

2. The application for registering secondary air waybill submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam before this Circular takes effect shall continue to be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT.

3. The Certificate of Registration for issuing secondary air waybills issued before this Circular takes effect shall continue to be valid until the Certificate is revoked.

4. The Heads of the Office, the Inspectorate, the Department Directors, the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.