Illustrative image (Photo: SGGP)
A contact hotline has been established to help the competent units of the two countries to exchange information about the incident and investigative process.
A representative of VNA said that the incident has been handled in accordance with the response process for situations threatening aviation security. The Vietnamese national flag carrier has continuously operated its regular passenger flights between Vietnam and Japan.
At 11.10 a.m. on January 5 (local time), about 40 minutes after the flight No. VN5311 conducted by VNA carrying 47 passengers and 15 crew members took off, the airlines’ office in Japan received a call from a man who spoke Japanese and claimed himself to be an American. He forced the fight to come back to Narita or it will be shot down when passing Tokyo Bay.
After an urgent meeting of the CAAV’s emergency and anti-terrorism task force and receiving permission from Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, the Minister of Transport and Japanese authorities, Head of the CAAV directed the flight to safely land at the Fukuoka airport.
The local authorities and police made a check of the plane to ensure its safety. The flight was then allowed to leave Fukuoka for Hanoi and landed in the capital at 6:12 p.m. (local time).
