This is one of the issues that has received great attention from people in the Southern region, domestic and foreign airlines, and travel companies in the context that in less than 6 months, Long Thanh International Airport - the only airport in Vietnam with large investments to become an international transit gateway - will officially come into operation.
According to the proposal of the Ministry of Construction , Long Thanh International Airport will operate all international routes of 1,000 km or more and other routes as selected by airlines. For domestic routes, Long Thanh will operate according to the needs of Vietnamese airlines. In addition, Long Thanh is expected to transport 10 - 12% of the output on the Hanoi/Da Nang - Ho Chi Minh City route of Vietnamese airlines.
Meanwhile, Tan Son Nhat will operate all international routes under 1,000 km (mainly to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos), accounting for 15-17% of the total number of international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City. The remaining domestic routes will continue to be operated by Vietnamese airlines at Tan Son Nhat.
With this division, Long Thanh will take on about 80% of international flights and 10% of domestic flights, while Tan Son Nhat will operate 20% of international flights and 90% of domestic flights. The State will proactively coordinate and divide the international/domestic ratio at each port in each period; at the same time, the division criteria will be reviewed and adjusted after 5 years of actual operation.
It should be emphasized that the exploitation division plan was proposed when studying the investment policy of the Long Thanh International Airport Project nearly 10 years ago. This is also clearly shown in the Phase I Feasibility Study Report approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1777/QD-TTg, dated November 11, 2020.
Along with the scale of investment and technology selection, the exploitation plan is an important parameter not only to reduce pressure on Tan Son Nhat and inner-city traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, but also the foundation for Long Thanh to have the opportunity to gradually become a major air transit gateway in the region.
In fact, the plan proposed by the Ministry of Construction has been carefully studied by specialized agencies, consulting airlines and scientists on the basis of many criteria. These are the State's viewpoint and development goals; the needs and interests of airlines, the convenience for passengers; infrastructure capacity, service capacity at each airport; as well as connecting traffic infrastructure... In which, the biggest unknown at present is the connecting infrastructure between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat and with urban areas in the region.
In the next 5 years, the connection between the two airports and the cities will mainly rely on roads, while capacity is still limited. This makes the exploitation division plan, although highly expected, still leave certain concerns. Notably, if the plan is approved, Long Thanh will become an airport providing long-haul international flights connecting Europe, Northeast Asia, North America to the entire southern region, from Binh Thuan to the provinces and cities of the Southwest region such as Ca Mau and Can Tho.
Therefore, any exploitation division plan needs to take into account this wide range of influence, instead of just looking at the connection between the two airports. Accordingly, the convenience of access for people in the early stages of exploitation must be given top priority.
Dividing exploitation between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat is a strategic decision, not only solving the aviation problem, but also shaping the entire Southern region's transportation system for decades. Choosing the international concentration option in Long Thanh will create an opportunity to form a regional aviation - logistics center, closely linked to the seaport and highway network. However, it also comes with a great responsibility in investing in connecting infrastructure and organizing a reasonable transition roadmap, so that Long Thanh can truly become Vietnam's "new gateway" to the world.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/dinh-vai-san-bay-long-thanh-d403231.html
Comment (0)