HCM City's Tan Son Nhat Airport received its 25 millionth passenger of the year on Saturday, five years earlier than expected.

Planes land at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City. The airport will be expanded to a capacity of 13 million passengers a year by 2017.

The airport, designed to serve 16 million domestic and 8-10 million international travellers a year, has already received 10.2 million international passengers this year.

It is expected to serve around 26.4 million people this year, including 16 million local passengers.

According to Dang Tuan Tu, director of the airport, it handles 527 flights daily and 560 during peak days in winter.

It expects the number to increase to 660-689 during the year-end season and Tet next February, worsening its overload.

The international terminal will be expanded by 2017 to a capacity of 13 million a year, with upgrades and expansion made to parking bays by next May to increase the number of aircraft from 41 to 46.

But Tu said even that would be inadequate since 50-55 aeroplanes park overnight at the airport every day. "Some aircraft are now parked in space belonging to the military."

He said to ease the congestion, the airport had asked the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam to adjust flight schedules, increasing the number of flights at off-peak hours.

This year the airport would start hosting two more international airlines, but their flights would not land or take off during peak time, he said.

Increasing the number of night flights by domestic airlines would be another solution to ease the overload, he said.

Besides, the airport had started automatic check-in to lessen pressure on check-in counters.

It had asked the Ministry of Defence to formalise the parking arrangement to reduce the pressure on parking space, he said.

At the domestic terminal, taxi pick-up and drop zones would be separated, and by 2016 the multi-storey parking lot would be completed, he said.

Then the pick-up area would move to the parking lot, and a tunnel connecting the domestic terminal with it would be built, he added.

Binh Dinh to build second air terminal

The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, central Binh Dinh provincial People's Committee and relevant agencies on Thursday approved adjustments to the Phu Cat airport plan for 2020 with a vision for 2030.

Under the adjusted planning, an 8,500-square-metre passenger terminal, which is able to welcome 1.2 million passengers per year, will be constructed adjacent to the existing one by 2020. By 2030 expansions and upgrades will be made to the existing terminals, increasing its capacity to 3.4 million passengers a year.

Parking areas will house seven planes by 2020 and 10 in 2030, including two positions for heavy transport aircraft such as the B777.

A cargo terminal accommodating 15,000-tonnes-of-goods will be built by 2030.

Phu Cat Airport received 427,000 passengers and 1,340 tonnes of goods in 2014, an increase of 46.7 per cent and 58.7 per cent, respectively, compared with 2013.

The national carrier Vietnam Airlines operates a return flight from the airport to Ha Noi once a day and two daily flights to HCM City. Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific operate one daily flight each from Phu Cat Airport to HCM City.

New domestic flights connecting Phu Cat – Hai Phong, Phu Cat – Can Tho and Phu Cat – Da Nang are expected to become operational soon.

The Phu Cat Airport holds an important position in Binh Dinh's socio-economic development strategy. After completion, it is expected to attract more investment to the province and the central region.

VNS