A passenger entering Việt Nam at Đà Nẵng Airport has his documents checked. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The first two months of this year saw an increase in the number foreign visitors denied from entry to Việt Nam due to invalid documents, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

A total of 217 foreign arrivals were turned away in January and February. The figure for the whole of 2023 was 886 foreign visitors while there were only 404 cases in 2022 and 506 cases in 2020, said the authority.

Airlines that regularly operate international flights to Việt Nam have received a letter from the CAAV about the control of air travel documents for passengers arriving and departing the country.

The National Aviation Security Risk Assessment Council reported that since 2022, the use of fake passports and incidents related to air travel documents on international flights tend to increase worldwide.

According to the CAAV, airlines suffer losses as a result of the growing number of passengers who are refused entrance because it takes time and money to return passengers to their original destinations.

Additionally, it increases the strain on the airport handling passenger returns, raising the possibility of losing control over safety, security, and order both on the ground and in the air.

The CAAV advised airlines that operate international flights to Việt Nam to rapidly update international and Vietnamese regulations on entrance, exit, and transit to airline passengers in order to minimise the number of people whose entries are denied.

Airlines must carry out dissemination on required airline documents in various forms to passengers and relevant travel companies.

The CAAV asked the nations where the plane takes off to closely control passenger documentation and reduce the number of cases involving invalid documents.

According to the Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper, the majority of passengers whose entries at Vietnamese airports were recently denied did not possess a valid visa.

On March 15, the Nội Bài Airport’s Aviation Security Centre received two Afghan passengers arrived in Hà Nội from Guangzhou (China) without visas.

On March 16, an Australian passenger flew from Bangkok (Thailand) landed at Nội Bài Airport without a visa.

On March 17, an American passenger arrived on flight CX743 departing from Hong Kong but did not have a visa to enter the country.

When a passenger is not permitted to enter a country, the airline transporting them is mandated by law to return them to the airport of departure.

In the event that passengers refuse to purchase tickets or run out of money, the airline transporting them must purchase tickets for the passengers to return to the departure airport. — VNS