Hanoi proposes second international airport

In a proposal submitted to the Ministry of Transport, Hanoi authorities estimated that the city’s greater metropolitan area population would reach about 21-23 million by 2050, similar to that of Ho Chi Minh City at 24-25 million.

A national airport network master plan submitted to the government for approval in April has already envisioned two international airports for the Ho Chi Minh City region – Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh – with a total capacity of about 150 million passengers a year.

"The capital region also needs to have two international airports to meet transport needs and ensure aviation security and safety," capital authorities argued in the proposal.

As well, the proposal stated that a previous general construction plan for the Hanoi capital region approved by the government in 2016 had also already made initial plans for a second airport to serve the city.

Authorities had previously studied a few locations to build the second airport, including Ly Nhan District in Ha Nam Province, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi, the southern district of Ung Hoa, 40 kilometers from the downtown, Thach Mien District in Hai Duong Province, around 50 kilometers from Hanoi, or Tien Lang District in Hai Phong City, around 120 kilometers from the capital.

Last April, the transport ministry submitted a master plan on national airport development to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The report said Vietnam has 28 airports, including 14 with international flights, serving the 2021-2030 period.

The second Hanoi regional airport would only serve domestic flights, according to the master plan.

The city's current international airport Noi Bai has been overloaded since 2017. The airport was designed to handle 25 million passengers per year. But the number of passengers and cargo passing through the airport has been increasing by an average 10% per year to nearly 26 million passengers in 2018 and about 29 million in 2019.