WATCH: Airline parades bikini models during flight

An airline has been forced to apologise for parading bikini models on a flight, and it’s not even the first time they’ve done it.

Budget carrier Vietjet decided to send the scantily clad women down the aisle of a plane filled with Vietnam’s under-23 football squad, on a flight from China.

Footage and images of the stunt, which occurred on the weekend, have been shared online and caused outrage among many from the communist nation.

“Vietjet’s move was so rude, cheap and offensive to the team, the fans and even its passengers,” Facebook user Nguyen My Linh wrote in a post that has gone viral.

“It’s disgusting. I will boycott Vietjet for this,” another traveller, Le Nguyen, wrote.

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Though the airline has grabbed headlines by staffing some of its inaugural flights with air hostesses in nothing more than bikinis, many online users said it was inappropriate to send the lingerie models to accompany the young men.

And the airline has since apologised for the stunt, saying it was an "improvised move" and not a well-thought out marketing strategy. It said "relevant staff" had been disciplined.

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