Unauthorized opening of aircraft emergency exits is punishable by a 10 million VND fine.
Feeling nauseous and uncomfortable, and thinking that airplane emergency exits were similar to those on cars or buses, passenger Vu Quoc Hung (Hanoi) arbitrarily opened the emergency exit on flight VN1171 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to... breathe fresh air.
Emergency exits on airplanes should only be opened in case of a necessary emergency - Illustration photo.
The incident occurred after passenger Vu Quoc Hung (residing in Thanh Ha Alley, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi), who had a ticket for VNA flight VN1171 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City at 9:30 PM on July 19th, was on board.
According to Mr. Hung, five minutes after boarding the plane, he felt nauseous and unwell, so he opened the L2 emergency exit on the left side of the plane to get some fresh air, inadvertently affecting the flight.
Mr. Hung explained to the authorities that this was his first time flying, and he hadn't been reminded by VNA or the flight attendants about the safety precautions. He thought the airplane's emergency exit was similar to those in cars or buses, and that opening it wouldn't cause any problems, so he opened it on his own initiative.The incident was documented on the spot, and passenger Hung was fined 10 million VND by the Chief Inspector of Aviation for administrative violations.
Shortly afterward, the male passenger filed a complaint with the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, claiming that "my mistake was unintentional and stemmed from the negligent work of VNA staff." Mr. Hung further asserted: "If there had been a 'no opening' sign at the emergency exit, if there had been security personnel present, and if I had been informed of the regulations or reminded before boarding, I would not have made this mistake." Mr. Hung also requested a reduction in the fine to alleviate some of the financial burden on his life.
However, the Chief Inspector of Aviation upheld the penalty, arguing that according to the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations, unintentionally violating legal regulations also constitutes a fault.
Regarding the second complaint, the Aviation Inspectorate reviewed the situation and found that on the L2 emergency exit door of the A321 aircraft that Mr. Hung had opened, the right side clearly displayed the words "DANGER. Do not open the door when the red warning light is flashing." The left side of the door also had instructions in both Vietnamese and English stating, "Only open the door when exiting."
Many other airlines are also facing headaches due to passengers arbitrarily opening emergency exits. On a VietJet Air flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on the evening of August 20th, a passenger nearly 80 years old went to the back of the plane and tried to open an emergency exit to… use the restroom.
Luckily, a nearby passenger saw what was happening and shouted, "Don't open the door!" which startled the man and made him stop.
The life raft will deploy immediately if the emergency exit door is opened.
When the flight crew was documenting the incident, the passenger requested to be exempted from the penalty due to his advanced age and lack of understanding. Considering the act was unintentional, the offender was elderly, and the emergency exit door had not been opened, the flight crew issued an on-the-spot warning to the offending passenger and their accompanying family members, requested a commitment not to repeat the offense, and did not issue a penalty notice. Over the past period, there have been dozens of cases of passengers opening aircraft emergency exit doors, with various age groups and reasons such as wanting to see the view, disembarking quickly, or going to the toilet…
Besides the dangers of emergency exits being opened unexpectedly, opening emergency exits also causes significant damage. For large aircraft with inflatable slides such as the A320/321, Boeing 777, etc., after each emergency exit door has to be deployed, airlines are forced to switch to a different operating vehicle to roll the door back up.
The cost of transporting the aircraft to Singapore to have the door repaired alone is approximately $10,000, not including the losses incurred from temporarily removing an aircraft from the flight schedule. Since the beginning of 2011, domestic aircraft maintenance and repair facilities have been able to handle this technical task for A320/321 aircraft, thus potentially reducing losses.
According to NLĐ-M
