Transfer 90% of international visitor output in Ho Chi Minh City in 2027
On April 20, information from Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said that ACV has developed and reported to competent authorities a plan to transfer operations between Tan Son Nhat International Airport (abbreviated as Tan Son Nhat airport) and Long Thanh International Airport (abbreviated as Long Thanh airport) according to a 2-step roadmap; towards shifting most and all international flights to operate at Long Thanh airport in stages, in accordance with infrastructure capacity and the goal of developing an international air transshipment hub.
Specifically, from commercial operation to the end of the 2026 winter flight schedule (from December 1, 2026 to March 27, 2027), all long-haul international flights (including freight transport) at Tan Son Nhat airport will be transferred to Long Thanh. It is expected to reach about 19% of international passenger volume in Ho Chi Minh City.
From the summer 2027 flight schedule to the end of 2030 (from March 28, 2027 to the end of 2030), transfer all remaining international flights (except for short routes under 1,000km operated by Vietnam Airlines). The goal is to achieve over 90% of international passenger volume in the Ho Chi Minh City area in 2027.
In the period after 2030, convert all regular international flights to operate at Long Thanh airport, in order to establish a foundation for forming a "international transshipment hub at the regional level in the Ho Chi Minh City region" in accordance with the Prime Minister's direction; Tan Son Nhat airport only operates domestic flights and irregular commercial international flights, charter flights serving organizations and individuals.
Currently, ACV is still closely coordinating with IAC consultants to complete the testing and transmission plan, along with updating output forecasts according to the current actual situation.
Immediately after competent authorities issue a plan to divide operations between Long Thanh airport and Tan Son Nhat airport, ACV will urgently coordinate with relevant parties to deploy synchronously, unifiedly, and effectively.
Hesitating to switch operations to Long Thanh airport will pose many risks
Previously, on October 31, 2025, ACV also had a report sent to the Ministry of Construction and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam reporting on the recommendations of Vietnam Airlines Corporation and determining the roadmap for transferring operations between Tan Son Nhat airport and Long Thanh airport.
Accordingly, ACV believes that out of a total of 3.16 million passengers connecting flights at Tan Son Nhat in 2024, domestic airlines account for 95% of production, being the leading force in domestic - international and international - domestic connecting flights.
However, according to ACV, if domestic airlines hesitate to move operations to Long Thanh airport according to schedule in the early stages, there will be many potential risks.
First of all, it will reduce the rate of input output formation for Long Thanh, affecting the ability to achieve project goals and promote investment efficiency. Along with that, reduce the opportunity to establish a "hub" position for regional transit of Vietnam, while competing airports such as Suvarnabhumi (Thailand), Changi (Singapore) or Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) are rapidly expanding passenger routes from Vietnam.
ACV also cited the analysis of the consulting unit IAC, saying that if international routes are not concentrated in Long Thanh, it will lead to fragmentation of the flight network, causing Vietnamese airlines to lose market share to foreign airlines and production may decrease by up to 8.8%, equivalent to losing more than 2 million passengers/year in the early stages of operation. In the long term, it may cause delays of 8-9 years for the growth of passenger output of Long Thanh airport.
