VietNamNet Bridge - Deputy Ministry of Transport Nguyen Nhat has asked the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration to reduce the number of flights during peak hours (4pm-6pm) to curb congestion at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.

Traffic congestion occurs very often around the airport.

Nhat met with officials of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, Airports Corporation of Vietnam, the Vietnam Air Control Corporation, and Tan Son Nhat airport yesterday to seek solutions to congestion at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

At the meeting, Dang Tuan Tu - Director of Tan Son Nhat international airport - said the airport currently has 51 parking positions, including 49 for commercial use and two for emergency.

The total parking positions for overnight parking and commercial exploitation at Tan Son Nhat is 63. Due to the limited amount of parking lots as the number of aircraft with overnight parking is high, many planes have to temporarily park on the taxiways.

The airport’s design capacity is to serve 23 million passengers per year, including 10 million at the international terminal and 13 million at the domestic terminal.

Tu said that the airport is now overloaded. With a design capacity of welcoming 13 million passengers a year, the domestic terminal last year had to serve over 16 million people. The number is expected to reach 19,816,830 in 2016.

As a result, the number of flights has increased. According to statistics from June 16 to 22, the flight frequency averaged 630 flights per day and up to 663 times flights on June 17.

It is anticipated that during this summer, the flight frequency will reach the peak, with more than 750 flights per day.

As the peak hours for flights coincides with the rush hour in the city, from 10:30 am to 11:30 pm and from 4.30pm to 6pm, serious traffic congestion around the airport occurs frequently.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat asked the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration to decrease the number of flights during peak hours (4pm-6pm) at the airport in order to reduce congestion.

This agency was also assigned to prepare documents for the negotiation between the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Defence as well as the HCM City authorities on the issue of land in the airport, air traffic management and transport connections to the airport.

The Deputy Minister also asked the Tan Son Nhat international airport to implement solutions to improve the service capacity of the terminals and restructure non-aviation activities in the airport.

Linh Nhat