Hanoi woman kicked off plane faces no-fly ban
A Hanoi woman who claimed to have bought "thousands of air tickets" after she was kicked out of an airplane over improper behavior earlier this month seems to be unable to afford an administrative fine of less than US$200.
Tran Thi T., hailing from Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan District, is likely to be banned from flying for up to six months for ignoring the sanction.
The 44-year-old was asked to leave the Hanoi-bound Vietjet flight VJ134 from Ho Chi Minh City on April 3 when she made a scene shortly after boarding.
A video showed T. repeatedly yelling at the flight attendants and verbally attacking a passenger who attempted to stop her.
The woman repeatedly said she had “bought thousands of air tickets” from the airline, and that “[her] seat is in business class, not economy.”
The quarrelsome woman was eventually taken off the flight, which was forced to take off 50 minutes later than scheduled. Airport security officers later slapped her with a VND4 million (US$180) fine.
More than two weeks later, T. has failed to pay the fine, which may earn her a flight ban, the Southern Airports Authority said on April 17.
“We have asked local authorities in her registered residence to help her to pay the fine,” the Southern Airports Authority deputy director Nguyen Minh Tuan told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
“If she continues to ignore it, we will report the matter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, which will impose a limited no-fly ban on her.”
Tuan said while it is not clear how long the aviation watchdog will ban T. from traveling by air, “similar violations like hers are normally subject to a six-month ban.”
T. disturbed flight VJ134 because she had missed the boarding gate change announcement and was unsatisfied with her allocated seat upon boarding.
Besides verbally attacking flight attendants, she also ignored an order to leave the plane by the captain, and refused to sign the case record prepared by airport security officers.
