Noi Bai airport’s upgraded runway ready for operation

Hanoi (VNA) - The upgrade of runway 1B at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi will be put into operation by 0:00 on December 31 to meet the peak travel demand for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Noi Bai is one of the two biggest airports which play an important role in boosting economic development and ensuring defence security.

According to Director of the Thang Long Management Board project under the Ministry of Transport Duong Viet Roan, all workload of the runway 1B upgrade was completed on December 27.

Work on checking and taking over the 3,000-metre taxiway and other facilities is being sped up, Roan said.

The management board had a working session with representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on December 28 to discuss plans of aircraft operation and other issues.

The runway’s operation duration is expected to be at least 30 years, and even up to 50 years if the periodic maintenance work is carried out regularly in line with regulations, he noted.

The CAAV has granted flight permits to domestic airlines to serve the peak days during the New Year festival and the Year of the Ox (lunar New Year) in accordance with the capacity of Noi Bai International Airport.

The two-phase project to repair the Noi Bai runway kicked start on June 29 with an estimated cost of about 2.03 trillion VND (over 88 million USD). The second phase is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2021./.