With increased air traffic and pressure to accommodate more flights, HCMC authorities are pushing hard to fast track approval for the $10 billion Long Thanh Airport project, reports TTR Weekly.
“The existing infrastructure will be overwhelmed if Tan Son Nhat Airport’s handling capacity is raised from the present 20 million passengers to 25 million per year,” HCMC People’s Committee Deputy Chairman, Nguyen Huu Tin said late last week.
In addition to receiving more passengers, a new airport is needed to house additional planes as local airlines are planning massive expansions of their fleets. Tan Son Nhat only has 42 parking spaces and they’re already full.
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Last May national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines took out US$200 million in loans to pay for 4 Airbus A321s and 8 Boeing 787s in a bid to increase the quality of their international flights. It also has plans to add an additional 60 smaller planes to its fleet.
Last October,Vietjet announced their intention to purchase 100 Airbus planesvalued at nearly US$8.6 billion. Finally, lost-cost carrier, Jetstar Pacific (of which Vietnam Airlines owns 70%) intendeds to add 5 additional aircraft in 2014.
Even without the additional planes, the Tan Son Nhat Airport Authority has reported that several foreign airlines have already reduced their flights to Tan Son Nhat due to overcrowding.
The new airport, which will be located around 43 km from HCMC, will serve 80% of international and 20% of domestic flights, diverting a major chunk of passenger traffic from Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Hopefully, the construction of Long Thanh help will not only accommodate more visitors, but also address chronic flight delays and cancelations that plague Vietnam’s airports.
