Woman carries sharp knife onto Vietnam Airlines flight

A Vietnamese woman managed to get a sharp knife through airport security and aboard a domestic Vietnam Airlines flight on Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has launched an investigation into the incident.

An elderly lady is pictured peeling fruit with a sharp 20 centimetre knife on Vietnam Airlines flight VN208 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on Monday morning. A member of the cabin crew noticed the knife and confiscated it straight away. However, the incident prompts concerns about the meticulousness of airport security at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh.

The lady was only using the knife to peel fruit, so she may have not had any ill intentions. However, bringing sharp objects onto domestic or international flights is strictly prohibited and both violating passengers and airport staff can get into big trouble if any weapons manage to get into the cabin.

Regulations prevent passengers from carrying razors or knives or anything with a long blade in their carry-on luggage. Violators can fined up to 7-10 million Vietnamese dollars (around 11,000 – 16,000 baht).

Head of the Aviation Security Department at the CAAV To Tu Hung said that serious incidents such as this one can lead to the sanctioning of passengers and the revocation of any security officer’s license who is found at fault. The CAAV conducted a thorough security inspection of the whole aircraft after the incident.

To Tu Hung said that the woman may be fined over the incident, but would not be criminally charged. If a ground-level security officer is found to have neglected their duty, their license will be revoked, said To Tu Hung.

In May, three women managed to smuggle 87.8 million baht’s worth of heroin through both Thai and Indian airport security but were eventually caught by police while transporting the drugs through India.

SOURCE: Vietnam Net