Vietnam plane ordered flying 55’ over Guangzhou

A passenger plane of Vietnam Airlines working on the Hanoi – Seoul flight was ordered on Jan.15 to fly constantly 55 minutes in the airspace of China’s Guangzhou Province by the Chinese Air Traffic Control due to ‘dangerous activity taking place in the area’.

Lai Xuan Thanh, vice chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, announced the news and added he had suggested the Chinese agency to make explanation about the incident.

As the result, the flight coded VN 416 was then delayed for many hours as the plane ran out of petrol and had to land in Shanghai, China for refuel, according to the official.

Till the evening of March 2, the air aviation agency of China has yet made any reply about the incident, Thanh said.

In law, a passenger plane which is operating in the airspace of a nation has to comply with instructions of the nation’s aviation authority.

The fact that a passenger plane is required to change direction or fly round to avoid a military maneuver is not rare, but local aviation authority always has clear explanation, Thanh added.