DANANG: The central city of Danang has proposed an investment of US$10 billion to upgrade the current international Chu Lai Airport to serve increasing demand due to tourism, investment and logistics growth through 2050.
The upgrades would make Chu Lai the first airport with the highest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) classification of 4F in central Vietnam.
Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Anh Thi said at a conference for travel agencies and airlines that upgrading Chu Lai airport would help the city host 30 million tourists in 2050.
Danang, a tourism beach hub in central Vietnam, welcomed 17.8 million tourists in 2025.
Thi said the strong link between the aviation and tourism industries means that upgrading aviation infrastructure would help speed up sustainable growth for the city's tourism as well, turning it into an attractive and safe destination.
Deputy Director of the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department Van Ba Son said that its two airports – Danang and Chu Lai – operate 26 air routes, of which 18 are international, with 132 flights per day.
He said 30 airlines have registered daily flight operations with routes connecting both international and domestic destinations.
The department also unveiled 3,500 new flights that have been scheduled to land at the city’s airports from Dec 22 to Jan 1, 2026, while more than 5,000 other flights have been registered to arrive during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday from Feb 10 to 24.
According to city officials, Danang aims to welcome 19.1 million visitors with an estimated revenue of VNĐ70 trillion (US$2.7 billion) in 2026.
Chu Lai Airport, which was built as an airbase during the war in the 1960s before opening to commercial traffic in 2005, has a total area of 2,000ha. However, it only receives around 1.2 million passengers per year.
The new investment project will help the airport increase its capacity, with a 225ha free trade zone and 545ha eco-urban and industrial zone as well.
Last year, Danang International Airport was listed among the top five airports in Asia for capacity, with the ability to host up to 20 million passengers per year. It was one of just two representatives from Vietnam on the list announced at Routes Asia 2024 in Malaysia.
In 2026, Danang International Airport will start expansion projects including a cargo terminal, infrastructure and expanding Terminal 1 to handle 100,000 tonnes of cargo per year. - Vietnam News/ANN
