Ho Chi Minh airport terminal considered for rebuild ahead of Long Thanh opening

The domestic Terminal 1 of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is being considered for a complete rebuild to expand capacity and improve connectivity within the airport, ahead of flight rearrangments with the opening of Long Thanh airport.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which operates all of Vietnam's commercial airports, put forward the proposal for the renovations, including underground tunnels linking T1 to the parking facility and the airport's other domestic terminal Terminal 3.

Long Thanh International Airport, which lies 40 km away in Dong Nai City, is expected to begin operations later this year, prompting plans to redistribute passenger traffic between the two airports.

Tan Son Nhat currently has three terminals. Domestic Terminal 1 and international Terminal 2 stand next to each other and share the main entrance on Truong Son Street in Tan Son Hoa Ward. Terminal 3 stands about one kilometer away and has been operating for more than a year.

T1, which covers nearly 41,000 square meters and has a designed annual capacity of about 15 million passengers, or around 41,000 passengers a day, is now used primarily by Vietjet Air. Vietnam Airlines, Sun PhuQuoc Airways, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Bamboo Airways, and several other carriers have moved their domestic operations to T3.

Passengers cross a road in front of the T1 terminal of Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh

Before T3 opened, passenger numbers at T1 regularly exceeded its capacity. During peak travel periods such as the Lunar New Year holiday, the terminal handled nearly 100,000 passengers a day, leading to severe congestion at check-in counters, security checkpoints, and pick-up and drop-off areas.

ACV said that after many years of operation, much of T1's infrastructure has deteriorated, while its layout and technology no longer meet current operational requirements. The proposed reconstruction would expand the terminal's capacity and introduce modern facilities to meet long-term demand as Tan Son Nhat continues to serve as Vietnam's primary domestic aviation hub.

As part of the project, ACV is also studying an underground transport system comprising one tunnel linking T1 with the parking garage and another providing a direct connection to T3. The tunnels are intended to create an integrated transport network between terminals and parking facilities, reduce traffic conflicts, and make passenger transfers more convenient.

Currently, passengers walking between the parking garage and T1 must cross roads used by airport traffic. There is also no direct connection between T1 and T3, requiring passengers transferring between the terminals to travel via roads outside the airport complex.

ACV is also developing an operating strategy for Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh airports.

Several major Vietnamese airlines have registered to operate at Long Thanh, while discussions are underway with a number of international carriers ahead of the airport's planned opening later this year.

Under the plan, Tan Son Nhat will continue handling domestic routes as well as short- and medium-haul international services. Long Thanh will gradually become southern Vietnam's primary international aviation gateway, focusing on markets with strong medium- and long-term growth potential.