'UFOs' over Ho Chi Minh City airport spark flight delays, turn out to be LED kites

According to airport sources, several flights arriving at and departing from Tan Son Nhat were put on hold between 8:20 PM and 8:30 PM on August 13 after air traffic controllers detected unidentified flying objects hovering in the vicinity.

Multiple incoming flights—including Vietjet Air VJ395 from Pleiku, Vietnam Airlines VN141 from Da Nang, Emirates EK392 from Dubai—were forced to enter holding patterns and circle over the city while awaiting clearance to land.

Initial reports indicated that the mystery objects were spotted hovering at an altitude of around 400 meters above Tay Thanh Ward, located just outside the airport perimeter.

To ensure flight safety, the Air Traffic Flow Management Center temporarily issued a Ground Stop (GST) order for flights bound for Tan Son Nhat from other regional airports, forcing departing aircraft to remain on the tarmac at their points of origin.

Authorities quickly dispatched a crew to investigate the scene, only to find that the "UFOs" causing the high-altitude stir were actually three large kites equipped with flashing LED lights.

Once the floating toys were safely brought down and any potential aviation hazard was cleared, normal flight operations at Tan Son Nhat promptly resumed.

The incident came only days after a serious drone intrusion disrupted operations at Tan Son Nhat, delaying and diverting over 60 flights. That earlier scare had prompted lawmakers and aviation authorities to call for stricter regulations and harsher penalties against illegal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights. 

Officials emphasized that any unauthorized flying objects near airport airspace pose severe hazards to flight safety.