A viral Instagram video has put Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air under fire after a passenger detailed what she described as an "absolute scam" during her solo trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo on flight VJ822 on August 11, 2025.
The passenger, Sangeetha Ramesh, who is an international model shared her ordeal and shared it on social media.
"VietJet absolutely scams people and this is how they do it," she said in the video. "Five minutes before the flight, this weird VietJet ground staff approaches me and says, ma'am, are you travelling alone? I said yes. She made me switch lines and checked my cabin luggage, even though it was already cleared at check-in."
According to her, while over 100 Asian passengers were allowed to pass without issue, solo travellers were singled out for additional inspections. Another Spanish traveller reported being asked to pay for duty-free souvenirs, with staff insisting the items exceeded baggage allowances.
The model also shared that the woman was pressured to pay extra fees just minutes before boarding. "There was this other Spanish lady with me and they had checked her check-in as well as cabin luggage at the check-in. They literally asked her to pay for the duty free things that she had bought as souvenirs... they literally took out the free from the duty free, which makes no sense."
She continued, "I've never heard of this happening before, like ever. They just started being like, oh ma'am, there's only three minutes left. You cannot board the plane. You need to pay. And I am somebody who's already stressed out when traveling. I literally, I didn't know what to do in that moment. I took all the clothes that I could wear and I wore them throughout whatever I could. My luggage was still a few grams overweight and they were like, no, you still have to pay. I just lost it at that moment.
I don't even know if this is legal. This is absolute bullying and I'm not allowing these people to bully me and then have me pay for it. This is insane."
Her ordeal did not stop there. Once onboard, she said she was denied access to water despite offering to pay in USD, which the airplane accepted but the staff told her that they did not have change.
Eventually, a flight attendant offered her help but asked her to come at the back of the plane to have water. The passenger claimed that she was given very little water and when she asked if she can have a full glass of water to drink, the flight attendant said "We cannot give you free water."
"Guys, do not travel with this airline that lets you literally die of thirst and will not even give you water. Such bad service, such lack of ethics—I can't even put it into words," she warned people.
She urged people not to travel VietJet in the caption as well. She wrote, "Don't ever fly VietJet! My solo flight turned into a total nightmare."
The video, which has already racked up more than a million views, is filled with comments from other travellers who shared similar frustrations with the low-cost carrier. Some accused VietJet of discriminatory practices, while others said they, too, had been forced to pay sudden luggage charges at the gate.
VietJet Air had faced numerous complaints from travellers over hidden fees, abrupt flight changes, and poor customer services. In one notable case, a passenger was overcharged at Ajmer airport for sweets purchased post check-in - VietJet was fined ₹35,000 by the consumer commission for unfair practices. The airlines has not clarified or released a statement on the claims.
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