Vietnam introduces new flight bans ranging from 3 months to lifetime

The Vietnamese government has issued a new decree on aviation security, which takes effect on July 1.

The regulation provides detailed provisions on cases in which individuals can be prohibited from air travel and specifies the duration of such prohibitions for different offenses.

Under Article 21 of the decree, flight bans may range from a minimum of three months to a maximum of a lifetime ban.

Flight bans of 3-12 months

Temporary flight bans of between three and 12 months will apply to passengers who engage in disruptive behavior, use fraudulent documents to travel by air, or commit violations of public order and social safety regulations at airports or onboard aircraft.

The decree also covers individuals who make threats involving bombs, mines, explosives, radioactive materials, biological weapons, or chemical weapons in aviation check-in areas, security-restricted zones, airports, or on aircraft.

In addition, passengers who deliberately spread false information or provide inaccurate reports about bombs, explosives, radioactive substances, biological weapons, or chemical weapons in a manner that disrupts normal civil aviation operations may face a flight ban of three to 12 months.

Flight bans of over 1 year

The decree imposes flight bans of more than 12 months and up to 24 months on individuals who reoffend after being previously penalized for violations that fall within the three-to-12-month ban category.

The same penalty applies to individuals who unlawfully interfere with civil aviation activities.

Such violations include providing false information that threatens the safety of aircraft either in flight or on the ground, endangering passengers, flight crews, ground personnel, or individuals present at airports and aviation facilities, and intentionally committing unlawful acts that jeopardize aircraft operations, airport operations, or flight safety.

When will a lifetime flight ban apply?

The decree also stipulates that individuals who fail to comply with administrative penalty decisions issued by competent authorities in the civil aviation sector may be prohibited from air travel until they fulfill the sanctions imposed.

More serious offenses shall result in a permanent flight ban.

Individuals who continue to reoffend after being penalized for violations that carry bans of more than 12 months to 24 months will be subject to a lifetime prohibition on air travel.

Permanent flight bans will also apply to those who hijack aircraft or incite riots at airports or air traffic management facilities.

Other particularly serious acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation will result in a lifetime ban.

These include unlawfully seizing control of an aircraft, destroying an aircraft in operation, taking hostages on board an aircraft or at an airport, and forcibly entering aircraft, airports, aviation facilities, or civil aviation infrastructure.

Anyone who brings dangerous items into an aircraft, airport, or other restricted area with criminal intent will also face a lifetime ban.

Dangerous items include weapons, ammunition, combustible materials, flammable substances, explosives, toxic chemical or biological agents, radioactive materials, and other objects or substances capable of endangering human life or flight safety.

Furthermore, individuals who use an aircraft as a weapon to cause death, serious injury, or substantial damage to property or the environment will be permanently barred from air travel.

As per the decree, the Vietnam Immigration Department will determine whether a violation warrants a temporary or permanent flight ban based on the nature and severity of the offense.