Starting December 1, Vietnamese airlines will be required to give passengers compensation in the form of meals and accommodation if their flights are delayed or canceled, reports Sài Gòn Giải Phóng.

The policy is the result of a circular issued by the Ministry of Transport in response to high rates of delayed and canceled flights among Vietnamese airlines, which reached 25% this year.

Compensation will be determined by length of delay:

“For example, passengers on flights delayed by three hours or more will be entitled to a meal. Those on flights delayed by six hours or more will be supplied with meals and accommodation, depending on the facilities available at each airport,” according to the paper.

This is in addition to monetary reparations for domestic flights of VND200,000 for a flight that is less than 500km, VND300,000 for a flight of 500 to 1,000km and VND400,000 for a flight of more than 1,000km.

The icing on the cake is airlines must apologize to passengers and explain the reason for the delays.

Flights delayed by weather or security reasons will not be subject to the new regulations.

Though compensation probably won’t make you feel much better when sticking it out at the airport, it’s nice to see airlines facing accountability for poor service.

[SGGP]