Dong Nai (VNA) – Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) announced on July 1 that it had held discussions with relevant stakeholders on operational scenarios for Long Thanh International Airport, with most domestic and international airlines expressing a wish to launch services at the airport once it enters operation.
Long Thanh airport is being developed in Long Thanh ward, the southern city of Dong Nai, across an area of 5,000 hectares with a planned capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually over three development phases. Located approximately 40–43 km from Ho Chi Minh City’s bustling Tan Son Nhat International Airport, it is set to become Vietnam’s largest airport and is intended to serve as a regional aviation hub. The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
For international carriers, ACV units have worked with representatives of the association of airlines operating at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN AOC), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and 34 international airlines including Korean Air, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines to discuss and prepare operational plans at Long Thanh in line with the schedule.
For domestic carriers, ACV has held discussions with Vietravel Airlines regarding plans to launch commercial services at Long Thanh from late 2026 and increase frequencies from the summer 2027 schedule. It has also worked with Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines on operational arrangements.
Under the proposed plans, Vietjet Air has committed to operating at least two international routes from Long Thanh during Phase 1, while Vietnam Airlines has proposed transferring a number of international services from Tan Son Nhat to Long Thanh, representing around 12% of the carrier’s international flight portfolio.
For the trial operation phase prior to commercial launch, ACV has also requested Vietnam Airlines to support aircraft availability for operational testing.
According to ACV, alongside the redistribution of selected existing routes from Tan Son Nhat once Long Thanh becomes operational, efforts to develop new direct international services are expected to contribute an additional 2 million passengers annually to Long Thanh by 2030.
Potential new routes are expected to focus on North America, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia.
To ensure the new airport’s operational readiness and maximise its advantages from the outset, ACV has established its Long Thanh international airport, aviation fuel and air cargo branches to manage and operate key airport infrastructure. Recruitment for these units is currently underway and is expected to be completed in July.
ACV has also signed a consultancy agreement with the Incheon Airport consortium to support the development of operating and management plans for the airport. Preparatory work covering operational frameworks, core procedures, commercial policy, business planning and financial strategy has been completed.
The corporation is now progressing operational testing and handover arrangements, with three rounds of trial operations scheduled for September, October and November.
According to ACV, the coordinated operational model between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat airports has been designed around a principle of market-based segmentation, with each airport serving distinct market segments, rather than mechanically shifting all traffic from Tan Son Nhat to Long Thanh.
The approach is intended to ensure continued efficient operations at Tan Son Nhat while allowing Long Thanh to achieve stable operations and realise its advantages from the early stages.
Under the current strategy, Tan Son Nhat will continue to focus on domestic services and short- to medium-haul international routes, while Long Thanh is positioned as a major international gateway that will gradually attract new international services, particularly in markets offering medium- and long-term growth potential.
ACV cited IATA forecasts indicating that international passenger demand to Vietnam is expected to remain on a positive growth trajectory through to 2040.
Markets including China, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Thailand, the US and Australia currently account for around 75% of Vietnam’s international passenger traffic.
Based on these projections, Vietnam’s aviation market is expected to gain an additional 8.6 million passengers by 2030, including about 3.2 million additional passengers across the Tan Son Nhat–Long Thanh airport system./.
