Storm Wutip grounds flights, strands thousands across central Vietnam

By midday on Thursday, Da Nang International Airport had canceled at least nine flights, diverted nine more and seen eight planes forced to turn back mid-flight. Inside the domestic terminal, scenes of frustration unfolded as weary travelers lined up beneath flickering monitors, many of which displayed delays or missing departure times.

Of the 12 Vietnam Airlines and VietJet flights originally scheduled to serve key domestic routes: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc, only one proceeded to check-in. Seven faced delays, while four remained in limbo with no confirmed departure.

The international terminal was also hit. Flights between Da Nang and Macau, scheduled to depart around 10 p.m. on June 12, were suspended due to the storm.

Vietnam Airlines reported 14 canceled flights between Hanoi and Da Nang from late Wednesday through early Thursday. Two other flights: VN7165 and VN7167, were rerouted to Cam Ranh or forced to return to Hanoi when landing conditions in Da Nang deteriorated. At one point, seven aircraft circled in a holding pattern over Da Nang, awaiting clearance to land, resulting in a ripple effect that delayed 32 subsequent flights by up to an hour.

Nearby Hue was not spared. Phu Bai Airport experienced similar chaos, with delays and holding patterns disrupting schedules.

Vietnam Airlines began rerouting aircraft and announced plans to deploy larger wide-body jets on the Hanoi–Da Nang route later in the day. The airline warned that further delays are likely, depending on the storm's movement, and urged passengers to check for real-time updates via official channels.

The travel disruption is expected to continue into Friday, as Storm Wutip, which intensified from a tropical depression in the East Sea on Wednesday morning, slowly moves west-northwest.

As of noon Thursday, the storm's center hovered west of the Paracel Islands with sustained winds of up to 88 kph. Forecasters expect it to head toward Hainan Island at a sluggish 5–10 kph.

Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has issued warnings of widespread torrential rain across central provinces, with rainfall totals expected to reach 100 to 200 mm, possibly surpassing 350 mm in some areas.

Flooding and landslides remain serious threats in vulnerable regions.