Passengers may be entitled to a refund when the flight is delayed

In order for customers to be able to request a refund when their flight is delayed, the Ministry of Transport has recently amended, supplemented and abolished a number of regulations related to air transport.

According to Circular No. 19/2023/TT-BGTVT, if a flight is delayed for more than 5 hours and the passenger does not request the carrier to fulfill its obligations as prescribed, the carrier must refund the entire fare or portion of the flight. unused ticket.

However, passengers still have the right to request the carrier to perform their obligations as prescribed. At the same time, the carrier should also ensure to provide passengers with sufficient information about this regulation so that they can make the right decision about whether to request a refund or not.

Regulations on the airline’s obligations to passengers:

Accordingly, passengers are compensated in the following cases:

In case the flight is delayed or canceled through no fault of the passenger:

• Be provided, fully updated information about flight delay and cancellation;
• Receive apologies for flight delays and cancellations;
• Ensure food, accommodation, travel and direct expenses are consistent with the waiting time;
• Ensuring the quality of passenger service at the airport.
  • Delayed from 02 hours or more: Change to the appropriate itinerary or change to another flight. Exemption from restrictions on itinerary or flight changeovers and related surcharges (if any);
  • Delay from 5 hours or more: If the passenger does not request the airline to perform the obligation but requests a refund of the fare, the airline will refund the entire fare or refund the unused portion of the ticket at the option of passengers;
  • Prolonged delay: In addition to the above obligations, when requested by passengers, the airline must make non-refundable advance compensation for passengers who have confirmed seats and have tickets on the flight.

• In case of delay due to the fault of the airline. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, passengers are also compensated as follows:
  • In case the flight does not depart early or is not performed or is canceled but the passenger is not informed. Passengers are compensated for delays that are not due to the passenger’s fault and:
  • Compensation for non-refundable advance for passengers with confirmed seats and tickets on the trip;
    • Be able to change the appropriate itinerary or transfer to another flight. The restriction on itinerary or flight changeover and related surcharges (if any) are also exempted. In case of refusal to apply, the full fare will be refunded or the unused portion of the ticket will be refunded.
    • If it has refused to apply, the airline may perform other obligations as agreed.

Refund for flight delay, cancellation, early departure, etc. is applied as follows:

• Exemption of restrictions on ticket refunds and refund fees (if any);
• The ticket is completely unused, the refund will be equal to the fare paid by the passenger;
• The ticket has been partially used, the refund will not be less than the difference between the fare paid and the fare, other services used for the passenger’s journey.