Vietnam’s Aviation Future Depends On Balancing Convenience And Competitiveness As It Evaluates How Best To Utilize Its New Long Thanh Airport

Published on August 12, 2025 |

Vietnam is group to toggle shape its confederate aerial recreation scenery pinch nan opening of Long Thanh International Airport successful 2026, which will go nan country’s largest aviation hub. This caller installation is designed to grip expanding rider request and relieve congestion astatine Ho Chi Minh City’s existing airport. Officials are considering whether to move each world flights to Long Thanh aliases divided operations betwixt nan 2 airports. Concentrating world flights astatine Long Thanh would streamline operations, trim costly transfers, and boost nan region’s competitiveness arsenic a world recreation gateway, while splitting services could support convenience for adjacent destinations but summation complexity and costs. The determination will style Vietnam’s domiciled successful location and world aerial recreation for decades to come.

When Long Thanh International Airport originates operations successful 2026, it is group to alteration nan full aerial recreation scenery successful confederate Vietnam. Authorities are examining really this US\$13-billion task successful Dong Nai Province could return complete arsenic nan superior hub for world flights, perchance replacing nan existing airdrome successful Ho Chi Minh City for each overseas routes.

This strategical determination involves 2 operational models, each tin of reshaping really millions of passengers recreation to, from, and wrong nan region. Both models transportation clear advantages arsenic good arsenic notable drawbacks, and nan prime will straight power nan country’s position successful nan world aviation market.

Constructed connected a immense tract covering 5,000 hectares and backed by an finance of VND336 trillion (US\$12.8 billion), Long Thanh International Airport is designed to beryllium nan largest successful nan nation. With modern facilities, agelong runways, and precocious rider handling systems, it intends to lucifer starring location airports successful some capacity and value of service.

Model One – Full International Transfer to Long Thanh
Under this option, Long Thanh would return power of each world services. The airdrome is expected to negociate astir 19 cardinal overseas passengers annually, on pinch astir 1.5 cardinal home passengers connecting to different flights. The existing airdrome successful Ho Chi Minh City would attraction almost wholly connected home operations, accommodating adjacent to 30 cardinal travelers each year.

This single-hub strategy promises respective operational benefits. Concentrating each world flights successful 1 location would create a beardown location gateway that could compete for much long-haul routes and hose partnerships. Consolidated operations would trim nan request to copy staffing, crushed equipment, and attraction resources. Passengers would nary longer request to recreation betwixt 2 different airports for connections, a process that presently takes 4 to 5 hours and often causes inconvenience. Additionally, shifting world flights retired of nan metropolis airdrome would relieve chronic congestion without requiring extended reconstruction of its terminals and runways.

However, nan single-hub exemplary faces a important challenge: location. Long Thanh sits astir 40 kilometers from cardinal Ho Chi Minh City, which intends longer recreation times for galore passengers heading to aliases from nan city. This could peculiarly impact business travelers aliases those pinch tight schedules, making accessibility a cardinal concern.

Model Two – Split International and Domestic Roles
The 2nd action proposes dividing aerial postulation based connected way length. The metropolis airdrome would proceed operating each home services and short-haul world flights of little than 1,000 kilometers. This includes routes to adjacent destinations specified arsenic neighboring Southeast Asian countries. It would grip an estimated 3.8 cardinal world passengers a year. Long Thanh would negociate each long-haul flights, pinch a projected 15.3 cardinal world passengers annually, alongside prime home routes that link pinch those long-distance services.

This exemplary offers convenience for travelers heading to adjacent countries, arsenic they could proceed utilizing nan existing airport, which is person to nan metropolis center. It besides makes usage of existent infrastructure and avoids leaving those accommodation underused. For metropolis residents and businesses relying connected accelerated location travel, this attack could beryllium highly practical.

Yet, nan split-hub creation brings operational complexities. Running 2 abstracted world gateways increases costs, from staffing to crushed support to information systems. Passengers whitethorn besides look disorder complete which airdrome they request to usage for their trip, particularly if they are unfamiliar pinch nan city. Furthermore, dividing world flights betwixt 2 locations tin dilute nan competitiveness of a caller airdrome by reducing nan measurement of transportation passengers, a facet that world airlines often see erstwhile choosing wherever to guidelines aliases grow operations.

Global Lessons and Strategic Direction
Experience from awesome cities worldwide suggests that splitting world postulation betwixt aggregate airports often reduces ratio and transportation connectivity. Large carriers thin to for illustration operating successful airports that connection a wide scope of connections successful a azygous location, enabling smoother rider activity and amended craft utilization.

For confederate Vietnam, nan determination connected which exemplary to adopt will specify not conscionable rider convenience but besides nan country’s estimation successful world aviation. A strong, centralized hub could pull much airlines, summation tourism, and heighten cargo handling capabilities. A divided system, while convenient for immoderate travelers, risks fragmenting resources and weakening nan competitory separator of some facilities.

Vietnam will reshape confederate aerial recreation by opening Long Thanh International Airport successful 2026 to grip increasing request and trim congestion, pinch plans to either centralize each world flights aliases divided operations betwixt airports, balancing ratio and rider convenience.

The chat continues, but nan imagination remains clear: Long Thanh International Airport is being built to go a cardinal subordinate successful nan region’s aviation network. Whether it operates arsenic nan sole world gateway aliases shares responsibilities pinch nan existing airport, its opening successful 2026 will people a awesome displacement successful really confederate Vietnam connects pinch nan world.