Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ,
Vietnam's largest international airport, serves
Ho Chi Minh City in southern
Vietnam. Its
IATA code
SGN was derived from city's former name
Saigon.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport has its origins in the early 1930's, when the French Colonial government constructed a small unpaved airport, known as
Tan Son Nhut Airfield in the village of Tan Son Nhut. By mid-1956
United States foreign aid built a 7,200-foot runway and the facility became
South Vietnam's international airport. During the
Vietnam War,
Tan Son Nhut Air Base (then written as
Tân Sơn Nhứt) was an important facility for both the
United States and the
South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF).. Before 1975, Tan Son Nhat International Airport has been one of the busiest airbases worldwide.
On
December 9,
2004,
United Airlines became the first U.S. airline to fly to Vietnam since Pan Am's last flight during the
Fall of Saigon. UA869 (a Boeing 747-400) landed at Ho Chi Minh City, which was a continuation of United's
San Franciscoâ€"
Hong Kong service. In 2006, this airport served approx 7 million passengers (of the total 14 million passengers in Viet Nam). Tan Son Nhat Airport has recently accounted for nearly two thirds of the international arrivals and departures in Vietnam's all airports.
Due to the increasing demand (about 15% per annum), this aiport has been continuously expanded by the Southern Airports Authority.
The New International Terminal is under construction by a Consortium of 4 Japanese contractors, KTOM. The invested capital for this Terminal is around $260 million funded by Japan Government Official Development Assistance (ODA). Upon completion at the end of 2006, this four-story Terminal will cover on 100,000 sqare meters, with 8 airbridges and state-of-art equipment and will have a capacity of 8 to 10 million international passengers per annum. The current terminal will serve domestic passengers only.
The current Tan Son Nhat aiport is located inside the crowded city of Ho Chi Minh and hard to be upgraded to meet with the increasing demand due to the limited area and safety reason. According to the recent decision by the Vietnam Prime Minister, a new airport namely
Long Thanh International Airport will replace Tan Son Nhat airport as the country's leading international airport. The Master Plan for this new airport was approved in April 2006, according to which, the new airport will be built in Long Thanh county, Dong Nai province, about 50 km North-East Ho Chi Minh City and 70 km South-West petroleum city of Vung Tau, by the Highway 51A. The Pre-Feasibility Study for this project is under way. The Long Thanh International Airport will be constructed on an area of 5,000 ha. It will have four runways (4,000 km x 60 m) and is capable to receive all jumbojet (A380). The project is scheduled to start in 2007 and will be divided in two stages. Once the Stage 1 is completed, this aiport will have 2 parallel runways (4,000 km x 60 m) and a Terminal with the capacity of 20 million passengers per annum. This stage will be finished in 2010. The 2nd Stage is planned to be completed in 2015, then this airport will have 3 passenger terminals and a cargo terminal designed to receive 80 to 100 million passengers and 5 million metric tonnes of cargo per year. The total invested capital of this project is estimated $ 8 billion. Upon completion of Long Thanh International Airport, Tan Son Nhat Airport will serve domestic passengers only. Long Thanh International Airport is expected to be the leading airport in Indochina Peninsula, and one of the busiest airtransportation hubs in the South-East Asian Region.
Tan Son Nhat currently operates from a single terminal building with separate sections for International and Domestic flights. Jetways were added in the late 1990's prior to which planes parked away from the terminal and passengers took buses to/from the terminal. The current capacity of this terminal is 7 million passengers per annum.
A new International Terminal is currently under construction with the first phase due for opening in 2007. When fully completed this four floor terminal will increase capacity to 8 million passengers a year and the total capacity of this airport is 15 million passengers per year. The current terminal will become fully domestic. After 2015, when Long Thanh International Aiport is completed, Tan Son Nhat will serve domestic passengers only.
Both Arrivals and Departures are split across two floors.
Arrivals
Arriving passengers deplane through jetways, although some flights may be parked away from the terminal and have a short walk to immigration that is located on the upper level. Immigration desks are available for both ASEAN and non-ASEAN residents - who generally must be in possession of a visa before arrival. After immigration passengers will move downstairs to pick up baggage. There are toilet facilities and a few Duty Free shops available in the baggage hall.After luggage has been collected it will need to be presented for screening along with a correctly completed customs form, prior to leaving the terminal.
A currency exchange desk is located immedietly after customs prior to leaving the terminal.There are no facilities for non-passengers to enter the arrivals area and they are limited to meeting passengers outside the terminal. It is here that it is possible to pick up taxi's into the city.
Departures
Only passengers are allowed inside the terminal.
Passengers enter the terminal on the lower level where check-in formalities are completed. Passengers are then required to purchase departure tax (As of April 2006 this is: Adult-14USD, Child(2-12)-7USD, Infants free) prior to taking an escalator upstairs. Trolleys are not allowed to be taken upstairs but smaller trolleys are normally available on the upper level.Passengers compete passport control formalities and then pass into the departure lounge that contains a few shops and a single restaurant that charges very western prices - 3USD for a soft drink.Flights are normally called and passengers need to present themselves at the gate for baggage screening and boarding - normally through jetways.
*
Air France (Bangkok, Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
*
All Nippon Airways (Tokyo-Narita)
*
Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon)
*
Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
*
China Airlines (Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek)
*
China Southern Airlines (Guangzhou)
*
Citiair (Hanoi)
*
Dalavia Far East Airways (Khabarovsk)
*
EVA Air (Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek)
*
Garuda Indonesia (Jakarta, Singapore)
*
Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Narita)
*
Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
*
Lao Airlines (Vientiane)
*
Lufthansa (Bangkok, Frankfurt)
*
Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur)
*
Pacific Airlines (Danang, Hanoi, Kaohsiung, Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek)
*
Philippine Airlines (Manila)
*
Qantas**
Jetstar Airways (Sydney [starting 2007])
*
Royal Brunei (Bandar Seri Begawan)
*
Royal Khmer Airlines (Siem Reap)
*
Shanghai Airlines (Shanghai-Pudong)
*
Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
*
Thai Airways International (Bangkok)
*
Tiger Airways (Singapore)
*
United Airlines (Hong Kong, San Francisco)
*
Uzbekistan Airways (Tashkent)
*
Vietnam Airlines (Bangkok, Beijing, Buon Ma Thuot, Busan, Chu Lai, Da Lat, Danang, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Hue, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Moscow-Domodedovo, Nagoya, Nha Trang, Osaka-Kansai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Phnom Penh, Phu Quoc, Pleiku, Qui Nhon, Seoul-Incheon, Siem Reap, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek, Tokyo-Narita, Tuy Hoa, Vientiane, Vinh)
*
Vietnam Aviation Service Company (Ca Mau, Con Dao)
*
Da Nang International Airport*
Noi Bai International Airport*
List of airports in Vietnam*
Southern Airport Services Company Official Website*
VVTB as part of FS Project Vietnam
