I (Swedish citizen) was to board a flight to Vietnam but got stopped and they said I couldn't board due to my passport expiring in 5 months and that I need at least 6 months. My visit was for 15 days so I was under the visa exemption rule and had no visa.
Now, I checked the Vietnamese embassy in Sweden and on their site it says that there are new visa exemption rules that say you only need 3 months validity of passport. It even says this:
Due to the fact that this visa exemption rule is relatively new, the traveler may experience difficulties boarding on some airlines other than Vietnam Airlines who will require a Vietnam entry visa be presented before boarding a flight to Vietnam. The Vietnam authority has informed all major airlines of the new rules and hope that the problems will soon disappear, however if the traveler encounter such problem, please be patient and explain the new rule to the airliner's staffs.
The embassy in Sweden also said that we were good to go when we called them before our flight to see if we needed a Visa. I tried showing the airline this but they refused to read it and gave me a printed paper of the rules from Timatic-3.
What is the best course of action now? Is the airline correct with their rules or are they outdated? If they are outdated, can I complain somehow and get compensation and new flight booked ? I have been unable to reach their staff today anymore because they are closed.