Vietnam’s Long Thanh International Airport is slated to open in June of this year, and the new airport will be easing off the congestion currently being experienced at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Projected to have a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per annum as early as the first phase of its operations, Long Thanh is seen as a boon for both the aviation and tourism sectors in the country.
Its developmental costs pegged at around US$16 billion, Long Thanh also stands to become one of the largest airports in the world, occupying a 5,000-hectare space that rivals even London’s massive Heathrow Airport.
Indeed, this monumental initiative is a reflection of Vietnam’s growing importance in the Asian tourism sector, especially given how foreign arrivals in the country were up by over 20 percent at the end of 2025.
How the new airport can improve Vietnamese aviation
Given the ongoing congestion experienced by both arriving and departing travellers at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat, Long Thanh is seen as the long-term solution as it is unlikely that the city’s current international airport could take on any more that it already can.
With Long Thanh opening its doors soon, travellers flying in or out of the country could experience improved flight punctuality, more congenial customer service, as well as improved airline scheduling for both short- and long-haul flights.
The new airport also stands to have a significant spillover effect on various related sectors, as it could boost tourism and trade, as well as logistics.
The local community of Dong Nai would also be benefitted by the new facility as it will lead to more opportunities for livelihood and employment for residents.
A new airport within the vicinity would also lead to the establishment of nearby free-trade and industrial zones whose activity would be a great help to both the provincial and national economies.
Some potential downsides
But not all of the developments related to Long Thanh are positive; indeed, there are a number of issues which could arise once the new airport opens or even well before it does.
Such issues could take the form of the following:
- Any delays in terms of construction or even the allocation of funds for critical connectivity could significantly reduce Long Thanh’s efficiency and competitiveness;
- Traffic issues especially within the immediate southern outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, given the ongoing widening of the adjacent expressway, could make transfers unpredictable;
- Just five months to go before the airport opens, but authorities have yet to announce which airlines are leaving Tan Son Nhat to operate at Long Thanh; and
- Operational alignment remains in the air as relevant national and local authorities, investors, and other regulatory bodies have yet to come to definite agreements.
But these issues notwithstanding, one thing is clear: Vietnam’s southern hub stands to gain a great deal in terms of both tourism and economics once Long Thanh begins its operations.
