More than 650 flights delayed at Tan Son Nhat

Ho Chi Minh City High operating intensity and bad weather have caused a chain reaction, causing more than 650 flights at Tan Son Nhat to be delayed during the first three days of peak travel during Tet.

According to statistics from Tan Son Nhat Airport Operations Center from 0:00 on February 1 to 16:00 on February 3 (December 22-24), this airport operated more than 1,100 departure and arrival flights. Of these, 659 flights were delayed, accounting for nearly 60%.

The two airlines with the most delayed flights are Vietjet Air with 257 flights, accounting for more than 74% of the total number of flights operated by the airline. Vietnam Airlines also had 209 flights, accounting for more than 59%. These are the two airlines with the largest operating ratio.

In addition, some airlines such as Jetstar Pacific also had 44 delayed flights (accounting for 70%), Bamboo Airways had 43 flights (accounting for 57%)... Along with delays, in the past three days, 40 flights were canceled due to weather, accounting for 3.63%.

Thousands of passengers wait for their flights to depart at Tan Son Nhat, February 3. Photo: Gia Minh — Thousands of passengers wait for their flights to depart at Tan Son Nhat, February 3. Photo: *Gia Minh*

Many flight delays have occurred since February 1st, due to fog in the northern provinces, preventing many planes from taking off and landing on time. This has had a chain effect on departure times between airports, especially Tan Son Nhat - the country's largest aviation hub.

Yesterday, this airport had about 900 flights arriving and departing with nearly 130,000 passengers, mostly at the domestic terminal. Of which, about 62,000 were domestic passengers, many flights were delayed 4-5 hours, causing many people to wait tiredly.

Inspecting the operations at Tan Son Nhat Airport yesterday afternoon, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan requested that the airport and airlines coordinate more closely in the operation and exploitation process, especially during peak days of Tet. When delays occur, the airport and airlines will find solutions to reduce congestion and explain more clearly to passengers so that they can better understand the objective reasons affecting their journeys.

In addition, the leaders of the Ministry of Transport also directed relevant units to arrange flight schedules in accordance with the operating capacity of airports and airlines, minimizing flight delays.

Today, the number of passengers passing through Tan Son Nhat is expected to be the same as yesterday, with about 128,000 people, nearly 900 flights. Of which, the number of flights is concentrated mainly at the domestic terminal with about 303 flights, carrying about 60,500 passengers.

As the largest airport in terms of area and capacity in the country, Tan Son Nhat Airport, after many upgrades, now has a capacity of 28 million passengers per year. However, since 2019, the number of passengers passing through this place has reached more than 41 million (exceeding 150% of capacity). During Tet this year, the airport is expected to serve 120,000-150,000 passengers per day, exceeding the level of 2019 - before the pandemic. Currently, the airport is building an additional terminal T3, expected to be completed in 2025, bringing the total capacity to 50 million passengers per year.

Gia Minh

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