HANOI: Vietnam is laying the foundation to establish Long Thanh International Airport as a hub for the South-East Asian region which will handle all international flight routes while Tan Son Nhat will focus primarily on domestic traffic, according to the Airports Corp of Vietnam (ACV).
AVC said it was pressing to redistribute flight traffic between the two international airports to optimise air traffic management in southern Vietnam, especially since Tan Son Nhat Airport, the country’s busiest airport, is overloaded.
The reallocation is also expected to improve service quality, enhance aviation safety and improve Vietnam’s southern airport system.
In the ACV’s latest report proposing reallocation of flight routes and operation roles between Long Thanh and the overcrowded Tan Son Nhat, ACV proposed two operational scenarios when Long Thanh enters its first phase of operation next year.
In the first scenario, all international flights will be shifted to Long Thanh, allowing Tan Son Nhat to concentrate solely on domestic operations.
This will see Long Thanh handling over 19 million international passengers annually in its first phase, plus 1.5 million domestic transit passengers.
This means Long Thanh will handle 100% of international traffic and Tan Son Nhat 95% of domestic traffic, creating the foundation for the formation of a hub airport in the south.
In the second scenario, Long Thanh will handle all international flights, particularly those over 1,000km and a part of domestic transit traffic, with around 15 million international passengers per year.
Tan Son Nhat will focus on domestic routes and short-haul international routes with around four million international passengers a year. — Viet Nam News/ANN
