Vietnamese airline fined $1000 for inflight bikini dance

Melbourne, August 9 (ANI): A Vietnamese airline was fined for hosting a mid-flight dance by bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants without prior permission.

The state owned newpaper Tuoi Tre reported on Thursday that the low-cost carrier VietJet Air was fined 1000 dollars by the nation's aviation authorities for organising the Hawaiian-themed dance to celebrate its maiden flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the tourist hub of Nha Trang .

Five women, all of whom were competing in a local beauty contest, performed the three-minute dance on the August 3 flight while passengers recorded the show on camera phones and later posted clips online, the paper added.

According to Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, the airline "violated local aviation regulations" by organising "an unapproved show on a flight," News.com.au reported.

Thang added that since the pictures were taken while mobile phones were in flight-safe mode it did not pose any risk.

The incident stirred public debate in conservative Vietnam after photographs and video clips of the sultry performance spread on the Internet. (ANI)