Vietjet Air (VJ) staffers at Danang International Airport (DAD) in central Vietnam decided to
strand a wheelchair-bound passenger, citing safety concerns. The passenger originally flew in from Hanoi (HAN) with no issues, but when she checked in for the return flight, rather than deal with assisting her from the tarmac up the airstairs to the plane, the staffers thought it was more prudent to cancel her ticket and issued a refund. The passenger had to wait another 6 hours for an available seat on a Vietnam Airlines (VNA) flight. The staffers were subsequently fined VND 5 million by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), or approximately USD 250, with further discipline possible from the company.
On the flipside of VJ news, a female passenger was fined VND 7.5 million (approx. USD 345) by the CAAV for
slapping a male VJ staffer after she was asked, and agreed to, to have her carryon luggage weighed. VJ has a 7kg limit on carryons, and the passenger was indeed over the limit.
VNA isn't immune to bad news: Both a pilot and a flight attendant were arrested in Busan, South Korea for
smuggling gold in their shoes without declaration. What's more amazing is that they apparently didn't know the other was doing the same thing, even though they were each being paid USD 250 to smuggle the gold in their shoes. The gold, at present prices, was valued at over USD 227,000.
