CAAT warns Thai VietJet for cancelling three Phuket – Bangkok flights in one day

UPDATE

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has warned Thai VietJet that the airline will be punished if it doesn’t start complying with aviation rules. The warning comes after Thai VietJet cancelled three services on its Bangkok – Phuket route on Thursday.

A flight from Bangkok to Phuket was cancelled due to accumulated delays at Suvarnabhumi Airport, says Thai VietJet. The return flight was subsequently cancelled.

Passengers were transferred to another flight on Thursday evening. However, airline staff let one too many passengers on board. The captain turned the plane around for a second passenger check.

However, by the time the seating plan was arranged, the plane missed its slot and the runway closed for maintenance. Thai VietJet cancelled the flight and over 300 passengers were forced to stay in Phuket for an extra night.

The airline claims it took good care of passengers and put them up in hotels for the night. Passengers wanting to cancel their tickets with the airline were refunded and other passengers flew home the next morning, said Thai VietJet.

However, passengers reported waiting for hours and said they had to help airline staff source accommodation for everyone.

The CAAT has summoned Thai VietJet executives to provide a detailed explanation for the cancellations of flights VZ2304, VZ2305, and VA309 on Thursday.

A few weeks ago, Thai VietJet oversold tickets on a flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani, causing a family to miss a wedding they were scheduled to attend in Laos.

ORIGINAL STORY: Thai VietJet cancels Phuket – Bangkok flight last minute over 1 extra passenger

Budget airline Thai VietJet cancelled a flight from Phuket to Bangkok minutes before take-off last night because staff couldn’t find a seat for one passenger. The plane was already taxiing on the runway ready to depart.

Flight vz2305 to Bangkok was scheduled to depart from Phuket at 8.25pm. More than 300 passengers boarded and the plane began taxiing down the runway ready for take off.

However, right before the plane was about to depart, airline staff realised they couldn’t find a seat for one foreign passenger.

The pilot coordinated with the flight control tower and decided to turn the plane around and free up the runway while airline staff fixed the problem of excess passengers.

Passengers descended from the plane and the staff told them to stand and wait. Three hours later, a solution still hadn’t been found.

The runway closed and Thai VietJet cancelled the flight, forcing passengers to stay in Phuket for an extra night. The airline rescheduled the flight which departed at 10.37am today.

Passengers complained that the airline was inefficient in helping find hotels for everyone. Passengers ended up helping airline staff find hotels for over 300 people, they reported.

Frustrated passengers couldn’t understand what went so wrong and said they would like the airline to clarify what happened.

Despite posting on Facebook all day, Thai VietJet hasn’t issued any kind of statement addressing the train wreck of a flight.

Two weeks ago, Thai VietJet oversold tickets on a flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani, causing a family to miss a wedding they were scheduled to attend in Laos.

The victims asked the airline to provide clarification about what happened. However, Thai VietJet didn’t make a public statement in that instance, either.

In September, Thai VietJet increased the frequency of their Bangkok – Fukuoka route, the airline’s only service linking Thailand and Japan.