Passengers waiting at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport's new T3 Terminal. — Photo courtesy of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV)

HCM CITY — The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam has launched an urgent inspection after widespread complaints from passengers stranded for hours at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City, due to prolonged delays and cancellations of domestic flights, many allegedly without prior notice.

In response to the growing frustration among passengers, the aviation authority announced Tuesday that it has formed an inspection team to assess the situation at the busiest airport in the country. The team will focus on ground service operations over the next five days.

One carrier, the budget Vietjet, has drawn the most criticism, as passengers reported multiple schedule changes—some flights delayed three to four times before being outright cancelled. Many said there was "not a word of notification” and their calls to customer service hotlines went unanswered.

One account from a social media user went viral, describing an ordeal involving a 77-year-old grandmother. “I took my grandma from HCM City to Huế. The original flight was at 8.30am on April 21. After boarding and deplaning twice, we waited at the airport until 2am the next day,” the user wrote. “Now it’s almost 4am on April 22, and I’m taking a taxi from District 7 to pick her up after the flight was cancelled altogether.”

Across social media platforms and online forums, passengers shared similar experiences, noting disruptions affected nearly all domestic flights on April 21.

Several flights were reportedly delayed by one to two hours, including those heading from HCM City to Hải Phòng and Hà Nội.

A representative from one airline, speaking with VietNamNet, attributed the delays to a sharp rise in holiday travel ahead of the April 30 – May 1 national holidays. The transition of many flights from Terminal T1 to the new Terminal T3 at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport further compounded operational challenges.

Additional delays on the afternoon of April 21 stemmed from thunderstorms over Nội Bài Airport in Hà Nội, disrupting departures to multiple provinces including HCM City. Furthermore, flights departing from Tân Sơn Nhất were subject to further adjustments as the airport limited operations to accommodate rehearsal activities for the 50th anniversary of national reunification.

"From 8am to 9.30am today, April 22, more schedule adjustments are taking place. This creates a cascading effect, resulting in further short-term disruptions to many flights," an airline representative explained. — VNS