Why move international flights from Tan Son Nhat to Long Thanh Airport?

Long Thanh International Airport is under construction and will be completed by the end of this year. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+) — Long Thanh International Airport is under construction and will be completed by the end of this year (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

If approved by the State management agency, from mid-2026, passengers in Ho Chi Minh City and the entire Southeast region will begin to get used to a major change: all international flights will depart and land at Long Thanh International Airport instead of Tan Son Nhat as before.

Reduce the load for Tan Son Nhat

According to ACV leaders, for many years, Tan Son Nhat Airport has been operating beyond its designed capacity. This is the busiest airport in the country with a huge number of passengers, especially international and domestic flights operating in a limited space. This leads to overload, congestion, reduced service quality, causing inconvenience such as long waiting times for procedures, traffic jams around the airport, wasting time and causing stress for passengers.

“Moving international flights to Long Thanh will greatly reduce pressure on Tan Son Nhat, helping this airport focus on serving domestic flights with better quality, faster and easier,” ACV leaders assessed.

Meanwhile, Long Thanh Airport is designed and built according to the most modern international airport standards, with a spacious terminal system, automatic check-in technology, smooth traffic flow, comfortable facilities, meeting the needs of passengers in the new era. Passengers will experience fast, convenient service, minimizing waiting time, ensuring more comfort and convenience when flying internationally.

In addition, Long Thanh International Airport is built with a maximum design capacity of 100 million passengers/year when all phases are completed; synchronous and modern infrastructure; no restrictions on night flight hours, reducing environmental pollution and noise compared to the inner city area.

Tan Son Nhat Airport has been operating far beyond its designed capacity, making it the busiest airport in the country with a huge number of passengers. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

On the other hand, Long Thanh is conveniently located connecting with key economic regions in the Southeast, with many major transportation projects being and will be invested in such as the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, Ring Road 3, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Ben Luc-Long Thanh, metro lines, light rail, high-speed rail... helping passengers not only easily access the airport but also conveniently travel to neighboring provinces, minimizing the traffic congestion that Tan Son Nhat is facing.

For example, when the connecting expressways are completed and there is a reasonable route planning plan, breaking the "monopoly" of An Phu intersection - the only gateway in the East of Ho Chi Minh City, passengers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City (Ben Thanh ward, Saigon ward...) to Long Thanh via Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway can take about 40-45 minutes under normal conditions.

It is expected that all expressway projects will be basically completed by the end of 2026 at the latest, and put into operation in sync with Long Thanh airport. With this multi-directional infrastructure network, passengers will have many options to travel to the airport, instead of depending entirely on one expressway, shortening time and reducing the risk of traffic jams.

Making Long Thanh an international aviation center

If flying internationally at Tan Son Nhat, passengers have to wait in long lines, spend a lot of time checking in, have congested entrances and seats, and have few amenities in the waiting area. Meanwhile, Long Thanh Airport will bring a completely different experience such as: a terminal built on a large area; quick procedures thanks to new technology; better services, 24/7 operations, expanded night flight options, optimized international connection times, etc.

Long Thanh is not only an airport dedicated to Ho Chi Minh City but also an international gateway serving the entire key economic region of the Southeast and part of the Southwest. Thanks to that, Long Thanh becomes a true international airport of the entire region, promoting socio-economic development, trade and tourism for many localities, while reducing pressure on Ho Chi Minh City and Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Long Thanh International Airport is set to be put into operation in 2026. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

When all international flights converge at Long Thanh Airport, the rate of international connecting passengers will increase sharply, helping Vietnam become an important stop on the regional aviation map, creating conditions to open more direct flights to countries around the world; attracting international airlines to open new routes, creating competition in ticket prices and services.

“Long Thanh Airport is not only a ‘gateway’ for passengers, but also an international air cargo hub, directly connecting to major seaports and key industrial zones. This will reduce the load on Tan Son Nhat, promote exports, cross-border e-commerce and attract investment in the logistics industry,” the ACV leader emphasized.

ACV also believes that transferring all international flights to Long Thanh Airport is a strategic move, putting the interests of the people and passengers first, and at the same time being in line with the sustainable development of Vietnam's aviation industry in the future. This is not just a change of airport location, but a comprehensive upgrade of the flight experience, contributing to making Vietnam a regional-level international aviation hub./.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/vi-sao-chuyen-chuyen-bay-quoc-te-tu-tan-son-nhat-ve-san-bay-long-thanh-5055933.html