Dien Bien Airline after 70 years

Dien Bien Airport was formerly Muong Thanh Airport of the French army during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. (Photo courtesy)

Muong Thanh Airport was built by the French to serve the Dien Bien Phu stronghold group, a key point in the strategy of establishing a large group to destroy the main force of Vietnam, to regain Indochina. The airport runway was assembled from tens of thousands of pre-made iron plates from France, transported by plane, parachuted and assembled in Dien Bien. The take-off and landing area is 25m wide and 120m long.

After the Dien Bien Phu Victory, in 1958, civil aviation was officially opened at Dien Bien Airport and was operated by the military, but there were very few flights. After the North was liberated, Dien Bien Airport was still maintained but was hardly exploited. In 1984, on the 30th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the Hanoi - Dien Bien flight route by AN24, AK40 aircraft... was restored, and the airport was put into operation with a 1,400m long aluminum runway.

After the Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954, Dien Bien airport was taken over by the Vietnamese Army. (Photo courtesy)

After a period of operation, due to technical conditions not allowing, on January 30, 1995 the runway was cut to repair the runway. After repair, Dien Bien Airport resumed operation with the main infrastructure including 1 runway measuring 1,830m x 30m; simple equipment system; 3 aircraft parking positions; passenger terminal built in 2004 with a capacity of 300,000 passengers/year. However, due to the limitation of clearance at both ends of the runway (mountainous), only small aircraft such as ATR72 and equivalent can be operated during the day (under weather conditions).

To meet the socio -economic development requirements of Dien Bien in particular and the Northwest in general, on March 27, 2021, the Prime Minister approved the investment policy to expand Dien Bien Airport.

Currently Dien Bien airport has been invested in modern construction.

After more than 8 months of suspension to serve investment, construction and expansion work, on December 2, 2023, Dien Bien Airport officially resumed operations. This is the first time Dien Bien Airport has welcomed large, modern aircraft A320, A321 and equivalent. With the investment in construction and expansion of Dien Bien Airport, the flight time from Hanoi to Dien Bien and vice versa only takes about 35 minutes and from Ho Chi Minh City to Dien Bien is only nearly 2 hours.

After being upgraded and expanded, Dien Bien Airport has contributed to attracting businesses to invest in the fields of tourism, trade, and services development, promoting the unique cultural values of ethnic minorities. In particular, promoting the value of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield relic complex - the greatest potential and advantages of Dien Bien province. In the Dien Bien Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the province has determined to focus on developing transportation with Dien Bien Airport as the main and important driving force of the whole region, focusing on developing tourism, services, and trade.

Dien Bien Airport can accommodate large, modern aircraft A320, A321 and equivalent takeoffs and landings.

After only 4 months of resumption, the number of passengers arriving and departing from Dien Bien Airport reached 906 flights with a total of 69,900 passengers transported. Passenger volume in the first quarter of 2024 through Dien Bien Airport increased by more than 38% over the same period in 2022 and increased by nearly 77% over the same period in 2021.

2024 is the National Tourism Year - Dien Bien, associated with the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory, the number of passengers is estimated to increase. Since the beginning of the year, airlines have increased the number of flights to meet passenger demand. In particular, Vietjet Air has increased the frequency of flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Dien Bien to 28 flights per week. Vietnam Airlines has nearly doubled the frequency of flights to Dien Bien from May 3 to 8. Specifically, the airline will operate 3 flights per day from Hanoi to Dien Bien and vice versa, serving the needs of people on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

Modern equipment is invested to meet passenger needs.

Along with tourism development, the construction and expansion of the airport contributes significantly to attracting investment in the province, creating momentum for the economy, increasing the ability to mobilize total social investment capital for the entire period of 2021 - 2025 by about 15,000 billion VND. Local budget revenue in 2025 will increase by at least 170 billion VND; per capita income is expected to increase by about 189 USD in 2025; contributing to creating direct jobs for about 8,000 workers. In the first quarter of 2024, the total development investment capital reached more than 3,629 billion VND, of which non-state investment capital reached nearly 2,000 billion VND, an increase of nearly 4% over the same period in 2023.

The investment in expanding Dien Bien airport will impact the connection and development of international regions and sub-regions. Because Dien Bien is located in an important connection between Vietnam, China and ASEAN when it is directly adjacent to Yunnan province (China), Phoong Sa Ly and Luang Prabang provinces (Laos).

After investment and expansion, passengers through Dien Bien Airport continuously increased.

From a field airport of the French army, today Dien Bien airport has become a modern airport of the North. Dien Bien airport is considered an important milestone in the Vietnam aviation industry, opening up opportunities and creating new development momentum for the economy and society of Dien Bien province as well as the Northwest region. To date, Dien Bien is the only province out of 6 provinces in the Northwest region with an active airport.

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