The Southern Airports Authority in Vietnam has explained that the water their staff was seen taking from a WC tap was used for cleaning and not as drinking water.

Tran Thuy Minh, director of the agency, made the confirmation after a passenger uploaded a photo to Facebook in which an airport staff member was filling a drinking water container from the tap in the restroom. The photo caused public concern, as airports in Vietnam have recently started providing passengers with free drinking water.

The photo uploaded to Facebook

“We’ve done an investigation and found that the water was in fact used for cleaning," she emphasised.

According to her statement, on July 20, some children vomited on the floor and an employee at a restaurant used a 16-litre Wami, the same used for drinking water, to get water from the bathroom to clean the mess.

“Shops at Tan Son Nhat International Airport do not sell 16-litre Wami water containers like the one in the photo. We’ve installed two water purification machines at the airport for passengers convenience," she noted.

The agency has requested that the company stop using drinking water containers for cleaning in order to prevent future misperceptions.