With less than a half a month to go for Tet, the Lunar New Year, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC is constantly teeming with people. On January 10 people from other cities and provinces arrived to pick up relatives heading home from abroad to celebrate Tet with their family.
According to security personnel, things are busier than usual this year at the airport with people seeking to catch up with loved ones after a long gap due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
At 11 p.m. an information board shows several international flights had landed. The number of people passing through the international terminal was nearly 33,000.
Many people also brought children along. While the adults were focused on the exit gates, kids could be seen dozing on chairs or their parents' laps.
Some people found the crowds too much to bear and so waited on the second floor behind a glass window overlooking the baggage carousels.
Tam waves after seeing her relatives from a distance.
"My entire family traveled from Dong Nai to the airport to pick up relatives traveling back from the U.S. for Tet," she said.
Chan greeted his nephew with a warm hug.
He said: "My nephew has been living in the U.S. for more than a decade. He is coming back with his family to visit his hometown for the first time. So meeting him is an indescribable emotion for me. In the next few days my family will return to Da Nang to celebrate Tet."
Tien's (in shorts) family now has a reunion photo after being separated for three years.
He said that in 2020 his sister (in black)went to the U.S. to visit her kid, but was unable to return due to the pandemic.
"Everyone is thrilled to see each other again after many years."
Aviation authorities expect the number of passengers arriving at Tan Son Nhat to rise in the coming days.
They estimate that during the busiest days leading up to the Lunar New Year there will be upwards of 130,000 people a day, more than 40,000 of them international passengers.
