HÀ NỘI — Birds crashed into the engines of two aircraft of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) Sunday evening, a representative of the airline said.

The incidents took place while the aircraft were taking off at the Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội and the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City

The airline has temporarily stopped operations of these two airplanes -- a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and a Boeing 777 -- for inspection and repair, resulting in a change in the schedule of some domestic and international flights departing from the two airports Sunday night and Monday.

Flights VN310/311 from Hà Nội to Tokyo in Japan and flights VN408/409 from HCM City to Seoul in South Korea were delayed by six to eight hours.

Domestic flights departing Monday from the two airports were delayed by 30 minutes to one hour.

VNA has rolled out several measures to limit the effects on passengers, while calling for passengers’ cooperation in case of delays due to unforeseen circumstances.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Boeing 777 usually carry passengers on long trans-continental journeys, with a capacity of more than 300 passengers per aircraft.

Last Friday, while taking off from the Nội Bài International Airport, a dent was found on the nose cone of an aircraft of low-cost carrier Vietjet flying from Buôn Ma Thuột to Hà Nội. The reason was reportedly due to a collision with birds.

A similar incident occurred with a VNA aircraft flying from Hà Nội to HCM City on August 15. The plane had to turn back to the Nội Bài International Airport 20 minutes after takeoff as a bird collided with the engine.

Cao Văn Thái, deputy head of the security committee of the Airports Co-operation of Việt Nam, said bird hits posed a potential risk to aircraft.

Any collision with birds can damage an aircraft’s body. Birds can enter the engines and destroy equipment if the aircraft is flying at high speed, Thái said.

Airports have taken measures to keep birds away, such as by shooting them with guns or by trapping them.

The Airports Corporation of Việt Nam proposed a project worth 1.160 trillion (US$ 51.6million) to identify foreign objects on runways at the two largest airports in Hà Nội and HCM City. — VNS