Vietnam's ​$13B Long Thanh Airport begins first runway calibration flight

Arriving from Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport, it circled multiple times before descending to fly the length of Runway No. 1 at the mega airport in Dong Nai.

 

 

Vietnam's ​B Long Thanh Airport begins first runway calibration flight

Chuyên cơ Beechcraft B300 bay hiệu chuẩn sân bay Long Thành

This marks the airport's transition from preliminary airspace evaluations, which took place in July and August at higher altitudes, to full-calibration flights.

Over the next month experts from the local Air Traffic Management Technical Company and the Czech Republic's Air Navigation Institute will conduct a battery of tests on the runway's precision landing systems, navigation beacons, radar, ADS-B technology and lighting.

A Beechcraft B300 calibration aircraft flies at Long Thanh Airport, Sept. 26, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Thai Ha

Calibration flights are a mandatory step before an airport's opening, and involves simulated takeoffs and landings at different angles and altitudes to ensure every system of the airport functions safely and accurately.

Long Thanh Airport, one of Vietnam's most ambitious infrastructure projects, sprawls over 5,000 hectares in Dong Nai Province, 40 km from HCMC.

With nearly 14,000 engineers and workers on site, construction has reached key milestones: Runway No. 1 and the taxiway system are complete, the passenger terminal has its roof and glass panels in place and the control tower and operations buildings are entering the final stages.

The government is aiming for substantial completion by the end of 2025, with commercial operations expected to begin in mid-2026.

A Beechcraft B300 calibration aircraft approaches the runway near the passenger terminal at Long Thanh Airport, Sept. 26, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Thai Ha