As the rest of the country goes about its daily routine, Vietnamese celebrities continue to make headlines. This time, it’s actress, Ly Nha Ky, whose celebrity status served as a golden ticket to the cockpit on a recent Vietnam Airlines flight. While the pilots and flight attendants were happy to have the former tourism envoy up front, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) was less than thrilled about the incident and has finned the crew.

It all started when photos of Ky’s cockpit visit surfaced online. The 31-year-old actress, model and businesswoman who served as Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador between September 2011 and September 2012, posed with the pilot, co-pilot and two flight attendants aboard the Airbus 321 at her request. After reviewing the pictures, the CAAV stated that these acts threatened the safety of the flight, especially since the plane had already reached cruising altitude. It added that, “allowing an unauthorized person into the cockpit during a flight is a rule violation.”

Even though Ky was the one who requested the photos, it was the crew who faced fines from the CAAV:

- Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Y, the captain, has been fined VND7 million and is not allowed to use his pilot license for a month.

- Y’s deputy Nguyen Xuan Hai has been required to pay a VND3 million penalty and a one-month suspension has also been imposed on his license.

- Chief flight attendant, Lam Quang Tien, faces VND750,000 in fines.

No word yet it if they'll fine the pilot's chair for allowing Ly to sit on it...

[Tuoi Tre]