7 consecutive incidents, Vietjet Air under special supervision, stops increasing flights

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has just signed an urgent directive on ensuring security and safety of aviation operations for flights of Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VietJet Air).

The directive stated that in a short period of time, VietJet Air had 7 aircraft operation incidents, including 5 incidents due to technical failure of the aircraft and 2 incidents due to subjective factors of aviation staff.

In a short period of time, VietJet Air had 7 aircraft operation incidents, including 5 incidents due to technical failure of the aircraft and 2 incidents due to subjective factors of aviation staff.

Most recently, in December, two serious incidents occurred with Vietjet Air flights. With flight VJ356 on November 29, 2018, during the landing process at Buon Ma Thuot airport, two nose landing gears fell off the aircraft. Meanwhile, flight VJ689 on December 25, 2018 landed on an unopened runway at Cam Ranh international airport after having to return to land due to technical problems.

"The continuous occurrence of aviation incidents by Vietnamese airlines in general and Vietjet Air in particular has affected the quality of aviation services and the psychology of passengers traveling by air. The Ministry of Transport strictly warns VietJet Air for allowing incidents that threaten flight safety to occur in recent times," the directive stated.

Minister Nguyen Van The requested the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to strengthen inspection and supervision of aviation safety and security regarding compliance with legal regulations in Vietjet Air's aircraft operations, especially checking the qualifications and certificates of flight crew, technical staff serving flights, and working hours. Re-evaluate all operational management factors, and ensure technical safety for Vietjet.

The Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily not granted Vietjet Air additional flight permits until the investigation into the cause of the incident on flight VJ689 on December 25, 2018 is completed.

At the same time, the Civil Aviation Authority is required to apply special supervision regulations to Vietjet Air, especially at major airports such as Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, and Cam Ranh.

The head of the transport sector requested that necessary solutions be implemented for Vietjet Air to minimize risks that threaten aviation safety and prevent similar incidents from occurring in aircraft operations.

The Civil Aviation Authority urgently completes the investigation into the causes of serious incidents that have threatened flight safety in recent times. Research the allocation of flight slots to ensure the spacing of flights, increase flights during off-peak hours; reduce flights during peak hours; consider reasonable flight turnaround times.

"The Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily not granted permission to increase flights for Vietjet Air until the investigation results of the cause of the incident on flight VJ689 on December 25, 2018 are available; in special cases, a written report will be submitted to the Ministry for consideration and resolution," the directive stated.

The Minister also requested Vietjet to strictly implement regulations and procedures on aircraft operation safety; establish maintenance plans and maintenance human resources in accordance with operational requirements; draw profound lessons from the causes of incidents, promptly propose comprehensive and fundamental remedial measures to ensure that flight safety is the top priority, not for profit purposes that affect safety, security and flight service quality.

Handle the responsibilities of individuals involved in serious incidents; adjust the person responsible for operating the airline's aircraft; Review all procedures for aircraft operation and maintenance, recruitment, training and coaching of pilots, promptly detect shortcomings to correct, rectify and improve to ensure safety for aircraft operations.

Arrange and assign flight crews to work in accordance with regulations on working hours and rest time for pilots, and avoid violations of overtime.

Reasonable arrangement of resources such as aircraft, pilots, aircraft maintenance staff, spare materials, tools and equipment, etc. at airports to ensure early detection and timely repair of aircraft failures and incidents, minimizing the time aircraft are down due to technical failures as well as minimizing delays and cancellations in aircraft operations in general and especially during the peak transportation service period during the New Year and Lunar New Year 2019.

Previously, on December 26, the Government Office issued an urgent dispatch conveying the Prime Minister's opinion requesting the Minister of Transport to directly direct the inspection of all procedures and regulations in the field of aviation, airport infrastructure, and absolutely not allow accidents that affect people's lives. The Minister of Transport is fully responsible to the Prime Minister.