Vietnam Airlines demands gradual switch to new Long Thanh airport on aircraft shortage

It sought this in a communication sent recently to the Ministry of Construction and other agencies on the division of operations between Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport and Long Thanh expected to open in mid-2026 in neighboring Dong Nai.

The ministry has proposed that Long Thanh will handle 80% of international flights and 10% of domestic flights to HCMC once it begins operations, while Tan Son Nhat will keep the rest.

Vietnam Airlines agreed with the overall plan but wanted flexibility in the initial phase to ensure resource efficiency.

It said carriers are struggling with aircraft shortages due to the global recall of Pratt & Whitney engines on Airbus A321 aircraft and disruptions to the global aircraft maintenance and repair supply chain.

So, moving all international routes longer than 1,000 km to Long Thanh immediately could disrupt operations as it would require adding narrow-body aircraft, it said.

It proposed moving long-haul routes to the Americas, Europe and Australia immediately to the new airport and gradually move Asian routes there.

Long Thanh airport spreads over 5,000 hectares and is expected to carry a price tag of VND336.63 trillion (US$13.3 billion).

It will have an initial capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo a year, which will expand to 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo when fully completed in 2050.

Construction is in the final stretch, and calibration test flights using a Beechcraft B300 aircraft were conducted recently.