Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City handled nearly 180,000 passengers on February 22, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year – the Year of the Horse, setting a new record and far exceeding the projected peak of 165,000.
According to the airport’s operation centre, a total of 1,069 flights were operated during the day, serving 177,859 passengers. The figure was well above the earlier Tet forecast, which estimated an average of 145,000 passengers per day.
At Terminal 1, operated mainly by Vietjet Air for domestic services, 263 flights carried more than 45,000 passengers, with arrivals outnumbering departures.
At Terminal 2 for international flights, inbound and outbound passenger numbers were relatively balanced.
The newly opened Terminal 3, which began operations in 2025, recorded the highest traffic, handling 454 domestic flights and nearly 68,000 passengers, the majority of whom were arrivals to the city.
Despite the surge, airport operations remained stable thanks to coordinated traffic management plans prepared in advance. Passenger arrivals were expected to peak from late afternoon to late evening.
In previous days, the airport had already maintained high throughput, handling around 170,000 passengers daily on the fourth and fifth days of Tet, both exceeding initial operational plans.
Traffic on roads surrounding the airport remained relatively smooth on the morning of February 22, with key routes such as Truong Son, Tran Quoc Hoan and Bach Dang uncongested, allowing vehicles to move steadily./.
