Tan Son Nhat Airport faces rising over-crowding
Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport will reach its 40 million passenger per annum capacity by 2018 a conference recently heard.
The conference, which was chaired by deputy Minister of Transport, Nguyen Ngoc Dong last weekend, discussed solutions to ease rising congestion around Tan Son Nhat Airport.
Experts have expressed worries over the over-crowding at the airport while Long Thanh International Airport will not enter operation earlier than 2025.
According to deputy director of national flag carrier Vietnam Airline, the total number of passengers going through Tan Son Nhat Airport may reach 31 million this year.
"The number will rise to 40 million in 2018," Binh said. "The over-loading is not only affected the quality of services here but also the operation of airlines."
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| Traffic jam near Tan Son Nhat Airport |
A detailed plan for Tan Son Nhat Airport by 2020 approved last year by the Ministry of Transport will upgrade the airport with 82 plane parking areas and a passenger terminal capable of serving 25 million passengers.
Meanwhile, a report from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority said that in the first quarter of 2016, Tan Son Nhat Airport has served 7.89 million passengers, an increase of 25.26% compared to the same period last year.
The report said that there were more than 26.5 million passengers to Tan Son Nhat Airport last year had already exceeded the planned capacity for 2020.
"The number of passengers has increased much faster than the upgrade work and resulted in the shortage of boarding gates, waiting area and especially a high level of delays or cancelled flights," Dong said.
Some experts explained that the upgrading work had not brought positive changes because of limited area. Many facilities here have been upgraded and operated at the same time so had not brought good results.
The head of another airline who wished to remain anonymous said there seem to be no quick solutions to the over-crowding at Tan Son Nhat Airport for the time being, so the airport should try to do its best with what it has now.
"The airport is serving some 550 flights a day but during big holidays like the Lunar New Year, it could still operate 726 flights safely," he explained. "So if we can’t change the situation soon, we can still try our best to run it properly with what we have now."
