Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 of the Minister of Transport on air transportation and common air activities, Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 of the Minister of Transport on advance non-refundable compensation in passenger air transportation, and Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016 of the Minister of Transport on reporting activities and data in the civil aviation sector of Vietnam.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVTdated 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 compensation for non-refundable advance payments in air passenger transportation, and Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVTdated November 15, 2016 stipulating on reporting activities and data in the civil aviation industry of Vietnam Circular "7. A flexible power plant is a thermal power plant using reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) or aeroderivative gas turbines (Aero-GT) with fast start-up capabilities, designed in modular form to generate electricity for balancing capacity and maintaining power system stability."Pursuant to the Civil Aviation Law No. 66/2006/QH11 dated June 29, 2006 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Some Articles of the Civil Aviation Law No. 61/2014/QH13 dated November 21, 2014; Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 30/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2013 on business operations of air cargo transportation and common aviation activities; Transport amending and supplementing some articles ofMinistry of Transport Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 92/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 on business operations with conditions in the civil aviation sector; 

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 89/2019/NĐ-CP dated November 15, 2019 amending and supplementing some articles of the Government Decree No. 92/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 on business operations with conditions in the civil aviation sector and the Government Decree No. 30/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2013 on business operations of air cargo transportation and common aviation activities;

At the proposal of the Director of the Transport Department and the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam,

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

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular amending and supplementing some articles of

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 issued by the Minister of Transport

stipulating on air cargo transportation and common aviation activities (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014), Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transport

stipulating on compensation for non-refundable advance payments in air passenger transportation (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015) and Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016 of the Minister of Transport stipulating on reporting activities and data in the civil aviation industry of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016) Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 as follows: 1. Amending Points c and d Clause 1 Article 1 as follows: “c) Issuing, reissuing, revoking the License for Establishing Representative Offices and Ticket Sales Offices of foreign airlines in Vietnam;.

d) Issuing, revoking the Certificate of Registration for Secondary Airway Bills;”.

Article 3. Aircraft Fleet Utilization Plan of air cargo transportation businesses (hereinafter referred to as airlines) and common aviation businesses in Vietnam

1. Airlines and common aviation businesses shall be responsible for developing annual (from January 1 to December 31), medium-term (5 years), and long-term (10 years or more) aircraft fleet utilization plans to implement air cargo transportation and common aviation activities in Vietnam.

2. The aircraft fleet utilization plan for airlines and common aviation businesses must include the following contents:

2. Amending and supplementing Article 3 as follows:

“a) Forecasting demand for domestic and international air cargo transportation markets, along specific routes that the airline intends to operate;

b) Anticipating network of flight routes; volume of transportation, turnover (passengers, cargo); load factor; market share of the airline on the entire international and domestic network and on each route;

c) Number of aircraft types planned to operate across the entire network; type of aircraft planned to operate on each route of the airline;

d) Plan to ensure resources (human resources, finance) for operating and maintaining the aircraft fleet.

3. In case the contents of the aircraft fleet utilization plan stipulated in this Article are amended or supplemented, the enterprise shall be responsible for reporting to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam within 30 days from the date the enterprise decides to amend or supplement the plan.

4. Airlines and common aviation businesses shall be responsible for reporting to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam the aircraft fleet utilization plan, detailed report as follows:

a) Report title: aircraft fleet utilization plan;

b) Content of the report: contents as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Method of sending and receiving reports: reports in paper form or electronic form sent directly, through postal services, fax or other appropriate methods as prescribed by law;

d) Deadline for submitting reports: November 1 of the year preceding the planning year (for annual plans) and 60 days before the start of the plan (for medium-term and long-term plans);

đ) Time to finalize report data: up to October 31 of the year preceding the planning year;

e) Outline of the report: as prescribed in Appendix XV attached to this Circular.”.

d) Deadline for submitting reports: November 1st of the year preceding the planning year (for annual plans) and at least 60 days before the planned start date (for medium-term and long-term plans);

Cut-off date for report data: October 31st of the year preceding the planning year;

Outline template for the report: in accordance with Appendix XV attached to this Circular.";

a) Sea freight and passenger transport.

“Article 6. Issuance of the Transportation Rules

The airline has the responsibility to establish, register, and issue the Transportation Rules. The Transportation Rules must include contents regarding the rights and obligations of the carrier and the rights and obligations of passengers in accordance with the provisions of the law.

4. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Clause 3, and Clause 5 of Article 8 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 8 as follows:

“1. A delayed flight is a flight whose actual departure time (calculated from the time of removing the aircraft boarding bridge) is later than 15 minutes compared to the scheduled take-off time according to the base flight schedule. The base flight schedule is the final version of the airline's daily flight schedule updated to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, air traffic control offices, and regional air navigation companies no later than 22:00 Hanoi time (15:00 UTC) on the day before the operational date.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 8 as follows:

“3. A cancelled flight is a flight that is not carried out based on the airline’s cancellation schedule.”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 5 of Article 8 as follows:

“5. An early departure flight is a flight whose actual departure time (calculated from the time of removing the aircraft boarding bridge) is earlier than the scheduled take-off time according to the base flight schedule.”

5. Amending and supplementing Article 10 as follows:

 “Article 10. Procedures for Issuing, Reissuing, and Revoking Licenses for Establishing Representative Offices and Sales Offices of Foreign Airlines in Vietnam

1. A foreign airline applying for a license to establish a representative office or sales office shall submit one set of application documents directly or through postal services or other appropriate means to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and shall be responsible for the information contained in the application. The application includes:

a) A request letter in the format prescribed in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

b) A copy of the establishment permit or business registration certificate or equivalent documents of the airline (in Vietnamese or English);

c) A copy of the operating rules of the airline (in Vietnamese or English);

d) A copy of the documents confirming the right to use the premises where the representative office or sales office is located in Vietnam;

đ) A copy from the original book or a certified copy and presentation of the original for verification or a certified copy (if submitted directly) or a certified copy (if submitted through postal services) of the appointment document for the head of the representative office or sales office (in Vietnamese or English).

2. Within five working days from the date of receiving a complete application as stipulated, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall be responsible for reviewing and issuing the license in the format prescribed in Appendix XIII issued together with this Circular. In case the license is not issued, the reasons must be stated in writing.

If the application for the license is incomplete as stipulated, within two working days from the date of receipt of the application, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall issue a written request for the airline to complete the application, and the processing period will start from the date of receiving a complete application as stipulated.

3. The license for establishing a representative office or sales office becomes effective from the date of issuance and expires due to revocation if there is a violation of the provisions of Clause 5 of Article 123 of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam or at the request of the airline.

4. In case of changing any content of the license for establishing a representative office or sales office that has been issued, the foreign airline shall submit one set of application documents for reissuing the license directly or through postal services or other appropriate means to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and shall be responsible for the information contained in the application.

a) The application includes: a request letter in the format prescribed in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular and related documents concerning the requested changes in Vietnamese or English;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving a complete application as stipulated, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall be responsible for reviewing and reissuing the license in the format prescribed in Appendix XIII issued together with this Circular;

If the application for reissuing the license is incomplete as stipulated, within two working days from the date of receipt of the application, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall issue a written request for the airline to complete the application, and the processing period will start from the date of receiving a complete application as stipulated.

5. When applying for issuing or reissuing a license for establishing a representative office or sales office, the airline shall pay the fee as prescribed by law.

6. In case the license needs to be reissued due to damage or loss, the airline shall follow the procedures and formalities prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article.

7. In case the license is revoked, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam shall issue a decision to revoke the license and the airline must immediately cease operations of the representative office or sales office.

6. Repeal Article 11.

7. Amending and supplementing Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Notification and Reporting on the Activities of Foreign Airlines' Representative Offices and Ticketing Offices in Vietnam

1. Within sixty days from the date of issuance of the License, foreign airlines' representative offices and ticketing offices shall notify their activities to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam in writing, electronically, or by fax according to the form prescribed in Appendix VI attached hereto. The airline shall be responsible for the truthfulness and accuracy of the content of the activity notification.

2. Within forty-five days from the date of issuance of the License, the representative office and ticketing office must commence operations at the registered address and publish information in a newspaper permitted to circulate in Vietnam for three consecutive issues, including the following contents:

a) Name and address of the representative office, ticketing office;

b) Name and address of the headquarters of the foreign airline;

c) Head of the representative office, ticketing office;

d) List of foreign employees (name, nationality, passport number, and valid work permit if applicable);

đ) Number, date of issuance, and validity period of the License;

e) Content of the representative office's and ticketing office's activities.

3. In case of changes in personnel who are foreigners, the representative office and ticketing office shall have the responsibility to notify such changes to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam within ten days from the date of change.

4. The representative office and ticketing office shall report their annual activities to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and shall be responsible for the truthfulness and accuracy of the content of the report, as follows:

a) Report title: Annual Activity Report of Foreign Airlines' Representative Offices and Ticketing Offices in Vietnam;

b) Report content: Information about the representative office and ticketing office; activities of the representative office and ticketing office; general assessments and recommendations;

e) Outline of the report: as prescribed in Appendix XV attached to this Circular.”.

d) Data closing date for the report: From January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year;

đ) Deadline for submitting the report: Before January 31 of the following year;

e) Report outline template as prescribed in Appendix VII attached hereto.”

8. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Termination of Activities of Foreign Airlines' Representative Offices and Ticketing Offices in Vietnam

1. The activities of representative offices and ticketing offices will terminate in the following cases:

a) At the request of the foreign airline;

b) The foreign airline ceases operations under the laws of the country where it was established or registered;

c) The license for establishing the representative office and ticketing office is revoked pursuant to Clause 5, Article 123 of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam.

2. Thirty days prior to the termination date stipulated in point a and b of Clause 1 of this Article, the representative office and ticketing office must send a notice of termination according to the form prescribed in Appendix VIII attached hereto to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, creditors, employees, and other interested parties. The notice must clearly state the expected termination date and be publicly posted at the representative office and ticketing office's registered address and published in a newspaper permitted to circulate in Vietnam for three consecutive issues.

3. The foreign airline, representative office, and ticketing office shall fulfill all debts and other obligations to related organizations and individuals in accordance with the law.”

9. Amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Procedures for Registering Secondary Airway Bills for Export

1. A Vietnamese enterprise shall submit one set of application documents directly or through postal service or other appropriate means to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority and shall be responsible for the information contained in the application. The application includes:

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

b) A copy from the original record book or a copy with the original presented for verification or a certified copy (in case of direct submission), a certified copy (in case of submission through postal service) of the Enterprise Registration Certificate;

c) A copy of the secondary airway bill sample of the receiving enterprise.

2. A Vietnamese enterprise registering secondary airway bills for export on behalf of foreign receiving enterprises shall submit one set of application documents directly or through postal service or other appropriate means to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority and shall be responsible for the information contained in the application. The application includes:

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

b) A copy from the original record book or a copy with the original presented for verification or a certified copy (in case of direct submission), a certified copy (in case of submission through postal service) of the Enterprise Registration Certificate;

c) A copy of the secondary airway bill sample of the foreign receiving enterprise;

d) A copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate or equivalent documents of the foreign receiving enterprise.

3. Within five working days from the date of receipt of complete application documents as prescribed, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority shall be responsible for reviewing and issuing the Registration Certificate according to the model prescribed in Appendix XIV issued together with this Circular. In case the Registration Certificate is not issued, the reasons must be stated in writing.

If the application documents for the Registration Certificate are incomplete as prescribed, within two working days from the date of receipt of the application, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority shall issue a written request for the enterprise to complete the application documents, and the processing time will start from the date of receipt of complete application documents as prescribed.

4. An enterprise applying for the issuance of the Registration Certificate for exporting secondary airway bills shall pay the fee as prescribed by law.

5. The Registration Certificate for exporting secondary airway bills issued by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority shall take effect from the date of signature and shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) At the request of the enterprise;

b) The enterprise ceases operations continuously for six months without notifying the issuing authority.

6. In case the Registration Certificate is revoked, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority shall issue a decision to revoke the Registration Certificate and the enterprise must immediately cease the activities of registering secondary airway bills for export according to the issued Registration Certificate.”

10. Repeal Appendix V promulgated together with Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014.

11. Replace Appendices IV, VI, VII, IX, X promulgated together with Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 with Appendices I, II, III, IV, V promulgated together with this Circular respectively.

12. Supplement Appendices XIII, XIV, XV to Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 with Appendices VI, VII, VIII promulgated together with this Circular respectively.

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Point c Clause 2 as follows:

“Article 4. Obligations of the Carrier

1. To compensate passengers with tickets and confirmed seats on the flight with the amount specified in Article 8 of this Circular in cases of refusal to transport, cancellation of flights, or prolonged delay of flights, except for cases exempted from liability as stipulated in Articles 5, 6, and 7 of this Circular.

2. To publicly announce on the Carrier's website, at airports, representative offices, ticket offices, and sales agent systems about the cases eligible for non-refundable advance compensation, the amount of compensation, detailed methods and deadlines for compensation, and specific addresses for implementing compensation.

3. To provide information to the Civil Aviation Authority, airport companies, and passenger terminal service providers regarding the reasons for flight cancellations or prolonged delays immediately after the decision to cancel or determine the prolonged delay of the flight to facilitate monitoring and updating the airport and airfield information system.

4. Within 72 hours from the scheduled departure time (in case of flight cancellation) or actual departure time (in case of refused transportation or prolonged delay of the flight) or promptly upon request of the Civil Aviation Authority, the airline shall report to the Civil Aviation Authority on the non-refundable advance compensation of flights according to the following content:

a) Report title: Report on non-refundable advance compensation for passengers refused transportation or flight cancellation;

b) Report content: Information about the airline's flight; information about passengers refused transportation or flight cancellation and the airline's handling solutions;

e) Outline of the report: as prescribed in Appendix XV attached to this Circular.”.

d) Report outline template: As prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Circular.

5. To promptly accept and resolve complaints from passengers refused transportation, cancelled flights, or prolonged delays.

6. To record contact addresses provided by passengers such as mobile phone numbers, landline numbers, email addresses, or relatives' phone numbers in case of inability to contact directly to provide information about flight cancellations or prolonged delays more than 24 hours before the scheduled departure time as the basis for exemption from obligations as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Circular.”

2. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Responsibilities of the Civil Aviation Authority

1. To publicly post the length of flight routes and regulations of this Circular at airports.

2. To inspect, supervise, and handle according to its authority the implementation of carrier obligations in cases of passenger refusal to transport, flight cancellations, or prolonged delays of flights as stipulated in this Circular.

3. To periodically report monthly or promptly as required to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration on the supervision of non-refundable advance compensation by airlines.

Monthly periodic reports on the supervision of non-refundable advance compensation by airlines shall include the following contents:

a) Report title: Supervision report on non-refundable advance compensation by airlines;

b) Report content: Information about the airline, flight (flight number, route), date of flight execution, number of passengers compensated, form of compensation, information about compensated passengers, other relevant information (if any);

e) Outline of the report: as prescribed in Appendix XV attached to this Circular.”.

d) Deadline for submitting the report: Before the 10th day of the following month;

đ) Data closing period for the report: From the 1st to the last day of the month;

e) Report outline template: As prescribed in Appendix II issued together with this Circular.”

3. Replace the Appendix issued together with Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 corresponding to Appendix IX issued together with this Circular.

4. Supplement Appendix II into Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 corresponding to Appendix X issued together with this Circular.

Article 3. Amend and supplement some provisions of Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016 as follows:Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016 is hereby issued as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Point a Clause 2 Article 4 as follows:

“a) Report flight transportation data for each flight, actual take-off and landing time data for each flight at airports (weekly) according to Model CV-1 attached hereto: data from Wednesday of the previous week to Tuesday of the current week, report before 10:00 on Thursday every week;”

2. Repeal Point g Clause 3 Article 4.

3. Replace Models CV-1 and QLB-6 issued together with Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016 respectively with Appendices XI and XII issued together with this Circular.

4. Repeal Model QLB-7 issued together with Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2016.

Article 4. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from November 15, 2020.

2. This Circular abolishes:

a) Circular No. 52/2018/TT-BGTVT dated October 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some provisions of Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 on air cargo transport and common aviation activities;

b) Clause 2 Article 2 of Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BGTVT dated August 25, 2017 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some provisions of Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BGTVT dated August 29, 2014 of the Minister of Transport on passenger service quality at airports and Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 of the Minister of Transport on advance non-refundable compensation in air passenger transport.

3. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to this Circular shall be responsible for its implementation./.