Some passengers had to wait more than an hour to get their luggage at Tan Son Nhat airport.

The Southern Airports Authority has just coordinated with Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HCMC) to conduct a survey of a number of flights, including checking the time for baggage return at Tan Son Nhat airport.

The results show that the time to return baggage from the time the plane closes the chock (enters the parking position to unload luggage and passengers) at the near parking positions (13, 14, 15, 16) for the first piece of baggage is 8-15 minutes, the last piece is 27-43 minutes. For the far parking positions (76, 80, 87, 91), from the time the plane closes the chock, the time to return the first piece of baggage is 27-42 minutes, the last piece is up to 38-71 minutes.

Speaking to Dan Tri , a representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport explained that the infrastructure at Tan Son Nhat is still limited. Meanwhile, the increase in the number of passengers has caused the time to collect luggage to be longer. Moreover, if the plane is parked far away, the luggage cart will arrive at the baggage claim area later.

Có khách phải chờ hơn 1 tiếng mới lấy được hành lý ở sân bay Tân Sơn Nhất - 1 — The time it takes for passengers to collect their luggage at Tan Son Nhat airport depends on many objective factors (Photo: Van Hung).

Sharing the same view, the Civil Aviation Authority said that the number of international flights is on the rise, the number of passengers is increasing, leading to some peak hours when passengers have to wait to go through immigration procedures before collecting their luggage. Therefore, the total time for passengers to enter and collect their luggage can be up to an hour.

The domestic passenger terminal at Tan Son Nhat was also built many years ago, the area of the baggage conveyor belt is small, making it difficult for passengers to access the conveyor belt. Therefore, the clearance of baggage on the conveyor belt for some flights with a large number of passengers and a lot of luggage takes longer than normal flights.

In the coming time, the Department and the Southern Airports Authority will continue to inspect, monitor and coordinate with relevant units to handle difficulties and have plans to shorten waiting time when doing immigration procedures and collecting luggage at Tan Son Nhat airport.

According to a report from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, from April 28 to May 3, the total number of flights expected to operate at Tan Son Nhat Airport is 4,466, with 755,910 passengers, up 18% and 33% respectively over the same period in 2022. The peak day of the holiday is expected to have about 810 flights.

The port representative said that they will arrange personnel and develop a detailed work plan at each location to regulate and avoid congestion. Particularly in the vehicle reception area and security screening during peak hours (5am-9am), the port will arrange 20 people to assist passengers.

In response to complaints that passengers taking taxis at Tan Son Nhat Airport "shoulder extra fees", the Civil Aviation Authority requested the Southern Airport Authority to verify the cause and propose a solution. Accordingly, Tan Son Nhat International Airport will organize the selection of passenger transport units by car according to the approved plan, with a minimum service price.

Remember, during the April 30-May 1 holiday last year, Tan Son Nhat airport was "in chaos". Many flights had to delay their departures, while passengers arriving at the airport complained of having to fight and wait for 2 hours to catch a taxi. It was raining heavily, and service prices were also significantly increased.

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