On February 23 (ie, the 7th day of Lunar New Year), the Airport Operations Center informed that the operating intensity at the port during the day was recorded at a very high level. Specifically, the airport is expected to operate 1,038 flights, serving a total of 171,022 passengers.
Recorded in reality in the early morning of February 23, the area to Terminal T3 was already crowded with passengers. The number of people from provinces and cities carrying bulky luggage and local gifts poured in crowded. As a result, the parking lot and passenger pick-up and drop-off area quickly became crowded. Long lines of passengers patiently waiting for taxis and technology cars forced aviation security forces to operate at full capacity to regulate and avoid congestion.
Just pushing a car full of luggage out of the waiting hall, Mr. Tran Van Hung (35 years old, a worker from Nghe An) said that his flight landed early but the number of people was too crowded, so moving to the car pick-up area took quite a long time. "This year, people returned to the city to go to work crowded. My wife and I tried to fly on the 7th to have an extra day to clean up the rented room and rest before returning to the factory. Crowded and tired, but fortunately, the luggage pick-up stage is still smooth," Mr. Hung shared.
The airport situation on the 7th day of Tet shows a clear difference between the number of arrivals and departures. This accurately reflects the migration cycle of people after the days of returning to their hometowns to reunite with their families. Among them, the number of passengers flocking to Ho Chi Minh City prevailed with 104,149 passengers arriving on 521 flights. In the domestic route alone, the number of people from provinces and cities flocking has reached 73,120 passengers (over 359 flights). At the same time, the airport also welcomed 31,029 international visitors.
In the opposite direction, the number of passengers leaving Ho Chi Minh City was significantly lower. The entire port recorded 66,873 passengers traveling on 517 flights, including 36,425 domestic passengers and 30,448 international passengers.
To meet the soaring number of passengers, units at the airport have allocated maximum capacity throughout the terminal system. The large volume of service during the day mainly pours into domestic terminals.
Terminal T3 is expected to serve the largest volume of domestic passengers with 453 flights and more than 67,800 passengers (incoming passengers alone account for 43,636 people). At the same time, Terminal T1 is also busy serving 258 domestic flights with more than 41,700 passengers.
For the international block, Terminal T2 maintains an operating pace of 316 flights, serving more than 61,400 inbound and outbound passengers.
Proactively analyzing data and developing detailed operating plans early helps functional forces at Tan Son Nhat to be ready for clearance plans. Thanks to that, the airport strives to minimize congestion when tens of thousands of workers return to the city at the same time.
