Facelift lifts Vietnam's Noi Bai to 19th among top airports in Asia

• Vietnam to expand overburdened Tan Son Nhat Airport under new plan
• $178-million expansion project takes off at crowded central Vietnam airport

Noi Bai International Airport has been voted the 19th best airport in Asia by a website that ranks airports based on responses from travelers.

According to SleepingInAirports.net’s latest survey, Noi Bai jumped from 28th in 2015 to 19th this year.

Da Nang Airport, however, dropped to 29th place from 23rd last year, while Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City was taken off the list of the worst airports in Asia.

Topping the list were Changi Airport (Singapore), Incheon (South Korea), Haneda (Japan) and Taoyuan (Taiwan).

SleepingInAirports ranked Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat fifth and eighth respectively on the list of Asia’s worst airports in 2014.

The results were criticized by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, which said that the survey did not take an objective view of improvements being made to the two airports at the time and was not conducted by an agency specialized in the field.

However, a range of high-ranking Vietnamese officials working in the aviation industry agreed with the verdict, with some admitting to poor service quality, inadequate infrastructure and overloading at airports.

SleepingInAirports.net annually conducts a survey asking travelers to rate their airport experiences based on the services and facilities available within the terminal, cleanliness, customer service, comfort and their overall airport experience.

In May, Noi Bai was named the world’s Most Improved Airport for 2016 by the UK-based airline review organization Skytrax.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, this shows the remarkable improvements at Noi Bai thanks to investment in infrastructure, facilities and staff training.

Related news:

> Vietnam to expand overburdened Tan Son Nhat Airport under new plan

> $178-million expansion project takes off at crowded central Vietnam airport