Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787 aircraft landed safely on the Long Thanh airport runway on the afternoon of December 15, not only as a technical event, but also bringing good news, that is the largest airport in the country ready to go into operation.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Viet - Deputy General Director in charge of Vietnam Airports Corporation - said that on December 19, Long Thanh airport will receive its first official flight.
When Long Thanh airport comes into operation, Vietnam will have another modern gateway, reducing the burden on Tan Son Nhat, creating momentum for economic development in the Southeast region and the whole country.
But, a big question arises, which way will passengers get to the airport and will they be able to catch the flight?
In fact, the traffic infrastructure connecting Long Thanh airport is a worrying bottleneck. The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway expansion project has just started, expected to be completed by the end of 2026, while Long Thanh Bridge will continue to 2027.
Thus, at least in the first year of Long Thanh airport operations, passengers still have to "bet" on the risk of congestion on the already overloaded expressway.
However, even if the expressway expansion project is completed, this route cannot solve the number of vehicles traveling in two directions from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport, not to mention the flow of vehicles from neighboring provinces.
The "super airport" of Long Thanh not only serves Ho Chi Minh City, but is also a transit point for the entire key economic region in the South. Therefore, other connecting projects such as Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, National Highway 51, Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, Ring Road 3 ... must be considered as "inadequate" routes. Just one delay, the system was blocked.
In the long term, urban railways are the fundamental solution.
The Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem - Long Thanh metro lines, metro No. 6 connecting Thu Thiem, or metro No. 1 extension from Suoi Tien to Long Thanh airport are all targeted to be completed by 2030. However, with the reality of metro implementation in Ho Chi Minh City over the years, this goal is a big challenge, requiring outstanding management capacity.
Long Thanh airport "taken off" on time, but what people are looking forward to is that the connecting infrastructure must also run at the same pace, even one step ahead. Because a modern airport with an outdated access road to the airport will have that resource eliminated right from the gate. At that time, the price to pay is not only time, but also people's trust in commitments on progress and efficiency of public investment.
