VietNamNet Bridge - Bamboo Cafe & Fast Food has been closed at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport and fined VND8million (US$400) for selling a dish not listed on the menu, vegetarian instant noodles, for VND100,000 ($5) a bowl.



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A bowl of instant noodle is sold for VND45,000-VND50,000 ($2.3-$2.5).




Dinh Viet Son, director of the Northern Airport Service Authority, said this was the first violation of its kind detected at the T2 terminal, which opened early this month.

According to the North Airport Service Authority, on December 31, 2014, some passengers had to pay up to VND100,000 for a bowl of instant noodles, about four to five times higher than the market price, at the restaurant, which is on the third floor of the T2 terminal.

The passengers sent text messages to Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang to report the violation. Thang then told the relevant agencies to inspect and punish the restaurant.

The restaurant, owned by Tre Viet company, was closed immediately the same day. The Northern Airport Service Authority levied a $400 fine on the company.

Referring to food prices at the T2 Terminal, which remain high, officials of the Northern Airport Service Authority explained that restaurants here hire retail space from the Airport Corporation, and the rent is not controlled by the state.

Retailers say they must sell products at a higher price because of the high rent. However, when the Aviation Law takes effect this July, the state will control the rent.

"The price of a bowl of pho (noodles) at a restaurant on the street is VND40,000 ($2), but at the airport the price would double because the rent is higher than outside," explained the Northern Airport Service Authority’s director.

All stalls at T2 terminal have to list prices of their goods and services. The Northern Airport Service Authority has regularly checked prices at the shops, and they have not detected other violations.

Before T2 terminal opened, CEO Le Manh Hung of the Vietnam Airport Service Corporation said that prices and service quality at the airport would be more tightly controlled. The corporation will also open a hotline to receive complaints from passengers.

Le Ha