Tan Son Nhat International Airport

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Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất

IATA: SGN – ICAO: VVTS
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Southern Airports Authority
Serves Ho Chi Minh City
Elevation AMSL 10 m / 33 ft
Coordinates 10°49′08″N, 106°39′07″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07L/25R 3,048 10,000 Concrete
07R/25L 3,800 12,468 Concrete
Domestic Terminal, Tan Son Nhat Int'l Airport
Domestic Terminal, Tan Son Nhat Int'l Airport
For the military use of the facility during the Vietnam Wars, see Tan Son Nhut Air Base

Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS), is Vietnam's largest international airport in terms of area (800 ha/1,977 acres compared with 650 ha/1,606 acres of Noi Bai International Airport and Da Nang International Airport.[1][2]) and in terms of capacity (with the capacity of 15-17 million passengers per year, compared to Noi Bai's capacity of 6 million passengers per year and Da Nang's 2 million passengers per year[2]) and also the country's largest airport in terms of passengers (with an estimated number of over 11 million passengers per year in 2007, more than a half of that of Vietnam's all airports)[3][4], serves Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Dong Nam Bo in general in southern Vietnam. Its IATA code, SGN, was derived from the city's former name Saigon.

Contents

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Domestic Terminal 1

  • Jetstar Pacific (Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hue, Nha Trang, Vinh)
  • Vietnam Airlines (Buon Ma Thuot, Chu Lai, Da Lat, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hue, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Pleiku, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Vinh)
  • Vietnam Air Service Company (Ca Mau, Con Dao, Da Nang, Rach Gia, Chu Lai, Tuy Hoa, Qui Nhon)

[edit] International Terminal 2

[edit] Cargo airlines

[edit] New International Terminal

Tan Son Nhat International Terminal overall architecture
Tan Son Nhat International Terminal overall architecture
Passport Check in the new terminal, 13 August 2007
Passport Check in the new terminal, 13 August 2007
Check-in counters at Tan Son Nhat International Terminal
Check-in counters at Tan Son Nhat International Terminal
Air Traffic Control Tower in Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Air Traffic Control Tower in Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Front view of International Terminal in Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Front view of International Terminal in Tan Son Nhat International Airport

A new international terminal funded by Japanese ODA and constructed by a consortium of four Japanese contractors (KTOM, abbreviation of 4 contractors's names: Kajima - Tasei - Obayashi - Medae), opened in September 2007 with the capacity of 8 to 10 million passengers per year, giving the airport a total capacity of 15-17 million passengers per annum. The old terminal is now used for domestic flights only.[1] After 2015, when Long Thanh International Airport is completed, Tan Son Nhat will serve domestic passengers only.

[edit] Facilities

Following the opening of its new international terminal in September 2007, Tan Son Nhat operates from two terminal buildings with separate sections for international and domestic flights. Four jetways were added in the late 1990s prior to which planes parked away from the terminal and passengers took buses to/from the terminal. The capacity of this terminal, once fully completed, will be 8 million passengers per annum. After 2015, when Long Thanh International Airport is completed, Tan Son Nhat will serve domestic passengers only.

The Prime Minister of Vietnam by Decision 1646/TTg-NN has approved the addition of 30 hectares (74 acres) of adjacent area to extend the apron and to build a cargo terminal due to the rapid increase of passenger (which will reach to 11 million in 2007 and is expected to reach 17 million in 2010, compared to 7 million and 8.5 million in 2005 and 2006 respectively) and cargo volume at this airport [6][7]

Both Arrivals and Departures are split across two floors.

[edit] Arrivals

Arriving passengers disembark through jetways, although some flights may be parked away from the terminal and require 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 prior to arrival, or make advance plans to pick one up in the arrivals area prior to clearing Customs. There are toilet facilities and duty-free shops available in the baggage hall.

A currency exchange desk is located immediately past the Customs desk. 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 passengers can pick up taxis, motorcycles or a bus into the city.

The air-conditioned airport bus, service number 152, is the cheapest way into the city. It is especially useful for tourists as it passes most of the major hotels along Đ De Tham and Đ Dong Khoi.

[edit] Departures

Only passengers are allowed inside the terminal.

Passengers enter the domestic terminal on the lower level where check-in formalities are completed; in the new international terminal departures are on the upper level. Departing international passengers must pay a departure tax (currently US$14 for adults and US$7 for children aged 2 to 12, with no charge for under-2s); as of November 2006, departure tax is included in the prices of plane tickets. Trolleys are not permitted past the security checkpoints, but smaller trolleys are normally available once the checkpoint has been cleared.

International passengers complete passport control formalities and then pass into the departures lounge. The new terminal contains several shops and restaurants, mostly charging Western prices for items, as well as business-class lounges operated by Vietnam Airlines and the Star Alliance. Flights are normally called and passengers need to present themselves at the gate for baggage screening and boarding, normally through jetways.

[edit] The airport's future

The current Tan Son Nhat airport is located inside the crowded city of Ho Chi Minh City, and a limited area for expansion and safety concerns would make it hard to upgrade in order to meet increasing demand. Following a recent decision by the Vietnam Prime Minister, a new airport - Long Thanh International Airport - will replace Tan Son Nhat airport for international-departure use. The master plan for this new airport was approved in April 2006. The new airport will be built in Long Thanh county, Dong Nai province, about 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City and 70 km (43 mi) northwest of the petroleum-focused city of Vung Tau, near Highway 51A. The pre-feasibility study for this project is under way. The Long Thanh International Airport will be constructed on an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi), and it will have four runways (4,000 m x 60 m or 13,100 ft x 200 ft) and be capable of receiving the Airbus A380 jumbo jet. The project will be divided in two stages. Stage one includes the construction of two parallel runways and a terminal with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year, due to be completed in 2010. The second stage is scheduled for completion in 2015, leaving the airport with three passenger terminals and a cargo terminal designed to received 5 million metric tons of cargo per year. The total invested capital of this project is an estimated US$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 on the Indochina peninsula, and one of the busiest air transportation hubs in the southeast Asian region.

[edit] History

Tan Son Nhat International Airport has its origins in the early 1930s, when the French Colonial government constructed a small unpaved airport, known as Tân Sơn Nhất Airfield in the village of Tan Son Nhat. By mid-1956 United States of America foreign aid built a 7,200-foot (2,190 m) runway and the facility became South Vietnam's international airport. During the Vietnam War, Tan Son Nhut Air Base (then using the alternative spelling 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 had 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 Francisco–Hong Kong service. Service was then switched from San Francisco to Los Angeles with a stop in Hong Kong as UA 867 (also a Boeing 747-400) on October 29, 2006. In 2006, this airport served approximately 8.5 million passengers (compared with 7 million in 2005) with 64.000 aircraft movements [8].Tan Son Nhat Airport has recently accounted for nearly two thirds of the international arrivals and departures in all of Vietnam's airports[9].[10]

Due to the increasing demand (about 15%-20% per annum), this airport has been continuously expanded by the Southern Airports Authority.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Official website of Tan Son Nhat International Airport
  2. ^ a b Vietnam Aviation Magazine (Tạp chí Hàng không), October 2007 issue (a magazine published by the Vietnam Aviation Authority), in article Is that possible for a new international airport in Hai Duong Province ?
  3. ^ Expansion of Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Sài Gòn Giải Phóng Newspaper on 13 October 2007 [1]
  4. ^ Two more Hanoi-Saigon flights per day for Pacific Airlines on “Vietnamnet.net, access date November 11, 2007, (Vietnamese) [2]
  5. ^ http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2008/jun08/3771
  6. ^ Two more Hanoi-Saigon flights per day for Pacific Airlines on “Vietnamnet.net, access date November 11, 2007, (Vietnamese) [3]
  7. ^ Two more Hanoi-Saigon flights per day for Pacific Airlines on “Vietnamnet.net, access date November 11, 2007, (English)[4]
  8. ^ Official number from Tan Son Nhat Airport Authority at its official website [5]
  9. ^ Two more Hanoi-Saigon flights per day for Pacific Airlines on “Vietnamnet.net, access date November 11, 2007, (Vietnamese) [6]
  10. ^ News about Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Official Website of Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, 12 November 2007, Vietnamese
  11. ^ News about Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Official Website of Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, 12 November 2007, Vietnamese

[edit] External links

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