The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has just proposed that the Ministry of Construction consider and direct: Applying the plan to divide the exploitation of Tan Son Nhat - Long Thanh International Airport (IC) into 02 main stages; implementing on the principle of flexibility, the State proactively coordinates and determines the international - domestic exploitation rate at each port in each period; the division criteria will be reviewed periodically.
Direct to accelerate investment in the construction of connecting transport infrastructure projects (road, rail) between Long Thanh Central Park - Ho Chi Minh City and other localities.
Organize assessment, proactively coordinate and determine the international - domestic exploitation rate at each market in accordance with the completion progress of connecting infrastructure projects.
Slot policy: Preserving historical Slot for airlines to transfer operations from Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Long Thanh.
Policy on prices and fees: There are support policies and facilitation for airlines in the process of converting operations.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposes that after 2030, all international flights will operate at Long Thanh International Airport.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, if the airline focuses on Long Thanh from the beginning, most passengers (mainly departing from the center of Ho Chi Minh City) will have to travel about 40km, causing additional costs and time. Meanwhile, Tan Son Nhat airport is only 6-7km from the center.
On that basis, the Civil Aviation Authority proposed a route to divide the flight between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat into two phases. The division according to the route will both ensure the role of the international gateway of Long Thanh airport and maintain parallel exploitation to meet the needs of passengers.
Specifically:
Phase 1 (2025-2030): The two airports will operate international flights together, but Long Thanh will gradually play a leading role.
The Civil Aviation Authority has determined that new international routes, flights with increased frequency to Ho Chi Minh City and airlines operating for the first time will not be licensed in Tan Son Nhat but must be transferred to Long Thanh.
The conversion process has been carried out step by step, starting from the summer of 2026 with encouraging airlines to switch flights to Europe, America, and the Atlantic to Long Thanh. After that, flights to the Middle East, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia... were also transferred to the new airport.
From 2028 to 2030 (end of phase 1), most international flights will be operated in Long Thanh, while short flights (under 1,000km) of Vietnam Airlines will still be maintained in Tan Son Nhat.
For domestic visitors, Tan Son Nhat airport continues to take on the main role, while Long Thanh only exploits part of it according to demand.
Phase 2 (after 2030): When the regional transport infrastructure (road, rail) is completed, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam recommends that all regular international flights will be operated at Long Thanh International Airport to establish a foundation to form an "international air transport hub at the regional level in Ho Chi Minh City".
Tan Son Nhat International Airport only operates domestic flights and unusual international flights, as well as charter flights for organizations and individuals.
