The requirement is part of Decree 208/2026 on air transport, issued June 15, setting out how airlines must treat passengers when flights are delayed, cancelled or rescheduled.
The decree is the first set of implementing rules for Vietnam’s new Civil Aviation Law, passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 and also taking effect July 1. The law replaces legislation dating to 2006.
Under the decree, a flight is considered delayed once its actual departure slips more than 15 minutes behind schedule. A delay of four hours or more is classed as an extended delay.
The obligations on airlines escalate with the length of the wait.
Once a delay reaches two hours, the airline must offer drinking water or a voucher of equal value. It must also rebook or reroute passengers who ask to be moved so they can still reach their destination.
At three hours, carriers must provide a meal or an equivalent voucher.
At four hours, if the delay is the airline’s fault and the passenger refuses a rebooking or rerouting, the carrier must refund the full fare or the value of the unused portion.
Airlines must also pay non-refundable advance compensation to anyone holding a confirmed seat and a valid ticket, a payment made once per flight.
Passengers check in at Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi, June 2022. Photo by Read/Ngoc Thanh |
The Ministry of Construction, which oversees aviation operation in Vietnam, will set the compensation amounts and how and when they are paid.
Delays of six hours or more trigger an accommodation requirement. Between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., airlines must provide a suitable rest area at the airport. For delays running from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day, they must arrange overnight lodging locally, or an alternative if the passenger agrees.
Travelers who have already taken a refund are not covered. The food, drink and rest obligations apply only to passengers who hold a ticket, have a confirmed seat and are present at the airport.
The decree also covers schedule changes made before a flight timetable is finalized. If an airline moves a departure more than five hours earlier or later between the time tickets go on sale and the schedule’s publication, it must notify passengers and either refund them or move them to another flight within 72 hours.
Separate rules apply once passengers are on board. If a plane has closed its doors but its departure is held up by 30 minutes or more, the airline must provide water and maintain ventilation, cabin temperature and toilet access. It must arrange emergency medical help if a passenger needs it.
Should such a delay exceed three hours with no confirmed departure time, the carrier must let passengers off the aircraft.
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