Tan Son Nhat Terminal T3: Passengers make mistakes all the time, wandering around looking for a place to park their cars and motorbikes

On May 18, a reporter at Tan Son Nhat Terminal 3 (HCMC) noted that the situation of passengers going to the wrong entrance, wrong floor, or even the wrong terminal is still common.

Airline staff Tran Phuong Nhu guides passengers to line up to check in at the departure terminal of Terminal T3 on the morning of May 18 - Photo: TTD

Go to the wrong floor and lose money

On May 18, just one day after Vietnam Airlines moved all operations to T3, a series of confusing situations occurred.

At the points leading from Phan Thuc Duyen or Tran Quoc Hoan streets into the station, many car drivers are confused when they cannot determine whether to go up to the 3rd floor of the departure terminal or down to the 2nd floor of the arrival terminal. Even though there are signs, many people still choose the wrong way, forcing them to go around outside, through the toll booth, then turn around and go back into the station, wasting more time and money.

Mr. TV - a technology driver who transports passengers to the airport - said that if he makes the wrong turn to the arrivals floor or goes into the wrong parking area, it will take him an extra 10-15 minutes to turn around.

"It takes time and money to pay at the toll gate, and customers are annoyed because there is no way to turn around between the 2nd and 3rd floors to save effort," said Mr. TV.

Another common situation is going up the wrong overpass leading to the parking garage. Instead of going straight down to the basement of the station, passengers have to circle back more than 500-700 meters, wait for the traffic light to change at C12 street, and then return to the starting point.

Many passengers went to the wrong entrance and wrong floor at Tan Son Nhat Terminal T3 - Video : TRAN TIEN DUNG - CONG TRUNG

Despite the modern design, Tuoi Tre Online noted that many areas inside the station are still in the process of completion, especially the basement parking lot. Records at the basement car parking area show that cars are parked quite messy, with staff constantly coordinating manually because the lane division system is not yet synchronized.

Some passengers said it took them nearly 15 minutes to ask for directions to the parking lot. "I asked three people before I could get to the motorbike parking lot. Some pointed to the basement, some pointed to the mezzanine. Each person pointed in a different direction," said Ms. NTL, a passenger from Bien Hoa, Dong Nai .

Passenger terminal T3 has a total investment of more than 11,000 billion VND, and will be put into operation in the first phase from the end of April 2025.

As of May 17, all domestic flights of Vietnam Airlines have been transferred from terminal T1 to the new terminal T3.

Terminal T3 has a designed capacity of 20 million passengers/year, the 3rd floor is the departure area, the 2nd floor is the arrival area, the 1st floor is for taxis and buses, and the basement is the parking area for motorbikes and personal cars.

The airline staff at Terminal T3 informed two passengers of Pacific Airlines who had gone to the wrong terminal, instructing them to quickly take a bus back to Terminal T1 to catch their flight.

Wrong terminal, missed flight , customer upset because of code share

The situation of going to the wrong terminal also happened right at the check-in area. Despite the widespread announcement, many passengers still went to the wrong terminal T1 or T3.

At the T3 terminal lobby, many Vietjet and Pacific Airlines passengers thought that all airlines had moved to the new terminal. When reminded by staff, they panicked and turned back to T1, more than 2-3km away.

There was a passenger who just arrived at the check-in gate and found out that he was flying Pacific Airlines, but when he saw the VN symbol on his ticket, he thought it was Vietnam Airlines and went straight to T3. When he arrived, he realized he was wrong and quickly turned around, afraid of being late.

Codeshare flights are a form of cooperation between airlines. In which, a flight can have the code of many different airlines. For example, flight VN6234 is operated by Pacific Airlines but the code VN is of Vietnam Airlines. Therefore, when passengers see VN on their tickets, they mistakenly think that they will check in at Terminal T3, where Vietnam Airlines operates.

In fact, Pacific Airlines still operates at Terminal T1, so passengers need to read their tickets carefully and look up the actual operating airline before going to the airport to avoid wasting time and missing their flight.

Many times, passengers miss their flights due to the wrong terminal. In some cases, the airline will allow them to change their tickets for free, but this only applies if there are still seats available.

As of now, only Vietnam Airlines operates domestic flights from Terminal T3. Other airlines such as Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, Vietravel Airlines and Vasco continue to operate from Terminal T1.

According to the airline's recommendation, Tan Son Nhat airport is operating two domestic terminals in parallel. Passengers need to proactively grasp information about the airline and terminal to avoid going to the wrong place.

Need more clear, larger signs

Although the new terminal is modern and airy, according to many passengers, the chaos will continue without more large, easy-to-understand signs and widespread communication from both airlines and the airport.

"I suggest having a dynamic map right at the gate and an app or text message confirming clear station information after booking a ticket. Only then can we reduce the need to run back and forth between the two stations," said Hai Nam, a frequent business traveler.

The elevated road area (left) and the entrance to Terminal T3 - where drivers can easily make mistakes when choosing a route

Follow the path to the parking garage, this is also where drivers often go astray. When going the wrong way, the security guard will guide the car inside (not down the garage) to turn around and go back out.

Drivers driving on the elevated road need to be careful when choosing the entrance to the arrival station (left, 2nd floor) and departure station (right, 3rd floor).

The parking garage of Terminal T3 is still empty because customers are not used to entering the parking lot.

Due to traffic jam on the first floor (the area where passengers pick up buses, taxis, and technology taxis), a few technology car drivers stood there to guide drivers in the right direction. Turn left to go to the toll gate to Phan Thuc Duyen street, go straight to the parking lot.

Departure area on the 3rd floor of Terminal T3

This is a rare elevator area that takes passengers up and down to the car park while the escalator system is being completed.

Restaurant, shop... outdoor area on the 3rd floor of the departure terminal is under construction.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nha-ga-t3-tan-son-nhat-khach-di-nham-nhu-com-bua-long-vong-tim-cho-gui-o-to-xe-may-20250518150803757.htm