Friday, August 10, 2012

Vietnamese airline fined for in-flight bikini dance

Vietnamese officials have fined a budget airline for having beauty contestants in bikini-tops dance aboard a plane without authorisation. VietJetAir was fined 20m dong (£611, $956) for the Hawaiian-themed dance on its first flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang.

Passengers filmed the five women on their mobile phones on 3 August. Officials say VietJetAir had "violated local aviation regulations". The decision to fine the airline was reached after officials met on Wednesday.


YouTube link.

A statement on the company's website says that it wanted to capture a "holiday atmosphere" for its new flight route to Nha Trang, one of the country's most popular holiday destinations. "Once passengers stepped on board they were met by flight attendants dressed in beach holiday attire [who] performed a sexy Hawaii dance," it said.

Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of the country's civil aviation body, said that the airline "had violated the local aviation regulations by organising an unapproved show on a plane". But he stressed that the mobile phones used to film the dance were in safe mode. The incident has stirred public debate in conservative Vietnam.

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