The US government shutdown caused a delay in Boeing’s delivery of an aircraft to Vietjet Thailand, prompting the airline to cancel its new direct flights to Tokyo and Osaka initially scheduled for December, while the airline already clarified the situation to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
Vietjet Thailand informed passengers who booked tickets for the new direct flights set to operate between Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka on Oct 3 that those services had been cancelled due to operational reasons.
The airline issued a statement on Monday stating that the derailed plans were actually attributed to the delay in the delivery of a Boeing 737-8 originally scheduled to take place at the end of October.
The delivery has been disrupted by the US government shutdown.
The affected flights included the direct routes to Osaka starting from Dec 2, 2025 through Jan 13, 2026, and those to Tokyo from Dec 15, 2025 through Jan 15, 2026.
Sarun Benjanirat, deputy director-general of the CAAT, said the authority acknowledged the situation and already received a formal explanation from Vietjet Thailand yesterday.
According to a news report, the delivery of the initital Boeing aircraft has been pushed back to November, while the airline had to postpone the inaugural flights of the two routes to mid-January 2026 instead.
The CAAT urged the airline to reaffirm the timeline of the aircraft deliveries and the carrier’s sales and marketing plans regarding the new routes, which should not impact travellers.
Mr Sarun said the airline ensured that its new aircraft will be delivered according to the revised schedule, enabling it to proceed with ticket sales for those routes from mid-January next year.
He said the airline reported that it already contacted 80% of affected customers and is attempting to reach the rest who booked via online travel agents.
Passengers must be protected with the right to receive a full refund on airfares or be offered alternative flights to mitigate the impact on their planned trips.
Mr Sarun said the CAAT has been following Vietjet Thailand’s Boeing aircraft deliveries since last year, which were included in its initial schedule.
The airline would have most likely been able to eventually secure its first Boeing aircraft this month, but the plan was unexpectedly disrupted by the US government shutdown.
He said if the airline were able to take the first aircraft delivery in November, it would normally take two months for the registration process in Thailand to be completed, which would be required before putting the aircraft into service.
Therefore, the airline could start serving routes with the new aircraft in January at the earliest.
In August, Thai Vietjet held a press conference in Thailand, noting its fleet expansion plan involved nine new Boeing 737-8s.
The airline aims to totally replace its existing Airbus fleet with 50 Boeing aircraft within five years.
Starting from this year, it would import nine Boeing 737-8 aircraft, including one in October, and four each in November and December.
In the latest statement, the airline announced it would provide a full refund, a change of flight or retain the relevant airfares as a credit shell for other Vietjet Thailand flights for passengers affected by the upheaval.