Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport Sân bay Quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất
IATA: SGN ICAO: VVTS
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Owner/Operator	Airports Corporation of Vietnam
Serves	Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area
Location	Tân Bình, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hub for	Vietnam Airlines VASCO
Operating base for	Bamboo Airways VietJet Air Vietravel Airlines
Elevation AMSL	10 m / 33 ft
Coordinates	10°49′08″N 106°39′07″E / 10.81889°N 106.65194°E / 10.81889; 106.65194
Website	www.vietnamairport.vn/tansonnhatairport/en
Maps
SGN/VVTS Location of airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Show map of Ho Chi Minh City SGN/VVTS SGN/VVTS (Vietnam) Show map of Vietnam SGN/VVTS SGN/VVTS (Southeast Asia) Show map of Southeast Asia SGN/VVTS SGN/VVTS (Asia) Show map of Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07L/25R 3,048 10,000 Concrete 07R/25L 3,800 12,467 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 40.738.295 ( 18.85%)
Source: Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV)[1]

Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS) is an international airport serving Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city in Vietnam. The airport is located in the Tân Bình district within the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area.

It is the busiest airport in Vietnam, with 32.5 million passengers in 2016,^[2] 38.5 million passengers in 2018,^[3] and about 41 million passengers in 2023.^[4] As of December 2023, it is the 50th-busiest airport in the world, and the second-busiest in Southeast Asia.^[5] As of April 2024, it has a total capacity of only around 30 million passengers,^[6] which has caused constant and increasing traffic and congestion, hence it has sparked debates for expanding or building a new airport, of which the plan of the new airport as an alternative is under construction since 2021, and will be completed by 2025.^[7][8]

Of the routes the airport serves, the domestic Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi route is the busiest in Southeast Asia and the fourth-busiest in the world, serving around 11 million passengers in 2023.^[9] Its IATA airport code, SGN, is derived from the city's former name of Saigon.

History

Early history and Vietnam War era

Tan Son Nhat International Airport has its origins in the early 1930s when the French colonial government constructed a small airport with unpaved runways, known as Tân Sơn Nhứt Airfield near the village of Tan Son Nhut.

By mid-1956, with U.S. aid, a 7,200-foot (2,190 m) runway had been built; the airfield near Saigon became known as South Vietnam's principal international gateway. During the Vietnam War (or Second Indochina War), Tan Son Nhut Air Base (then using the alternative spelling "Tân Sơn Nhứt") was an important facility for both the U.S. Air Force and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Between 1968 and 1974, Tan Son Nhut Airport was one of the busiest military airbases in the world. Pan Am schedules from 1973 show that during the last days of South Vietnam, Boeing 747 service was being operated four times a week to San Francisco via Guam and Manila.^[10] Continental Airlines operated up to 30 Boeing 707 military charters per week to and from Tan Son Nhut Airport during the 1968–74 period.^[11]

Post-war era

On 9 December 2004, United Airlines became the first U.S. airline to fly to Vietnam since Pan Am's last flight during the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. Flight UA 869, operated using a Boeing 747-400 landed at Ho Chi Minh City, the terminus of the flight that originated from San Francisco via Hong Kong. On 29 October 2006, this service was switched from San Francisco to Los Angeles with a stop in Hong Kong, operating as UA 867 (also using a 747–400). In 2009, the service UA 869 has resumed once again from San Francisco via Hong Kong International Airport.^[12] United ended the route to San Francisco via Hong Kong on 30 October 2011. The airline resumed the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong after its merger with Continental Airlines. The flight until suspended, no longer made a stop at San Francisco and was flown on a Boeing 777-200ER instead of the 747-400.

In 2006, Tan Son Nhat International Airport served approximately 8.5 million passengers (compared with 7 million in 2005) with 64,000 aircraft movements.^[13] It has recently accounted for nearly two-thirds of the arrivals and departures at Vietnam's international gateway airports.^[14][15] Due to increasing demand (about 15–20% per annum), the airport has been continuously expanded by the Southern Airports Corporation.^[15]

In 2010, Tan Son Nhat domestic terminal handled 8 million passengers, its maximum capacity. The airport reached its full capacity of 20 million passengers in 2013, two years earlier than predicted. Both domestic and international terminal are being expanded to meet the increasing demand. In December 2014, expansion for the domestic terminal was finished, boosting the terminal's capacity to 13 million passengers per annum.^[16] In September 2017, People's Army of Vietnam ceded 21 hectare of military land in the vicinity of the airport to Airports Corporation of Vietnam for civil use. This gave way for the construction of 21 new aircraft parking spaces, expected to be completed by Tet holidays in 2018. Tan Son Nhat will then have 72 parking spaces for airplanes.^[17]

Of the routes the airport serves, the Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi route is the busiest in Southeast Asia and the seventh busiest in the world, serving 6,769,823 customers in 2017.^[18]

Terminals and other facilities

Passenger terminals

Terminal 1

Until the opening of the International Terminal in 2007, the domestic terminal was the sole civilian terminal of the airport. The French Indochinese administration built the original terminal. It initially covered an area of 1,800 m² (19,000 sq ft). Between 1954 and 1975 when the airport quickly became one of the busiest airports in the world, it was expanded 4 more times: in 1956, 1960, 1963 (which was handled by the contractor RMK-BRJ^[19]), and 1969.^[20] By 1972, the terminal grew to 10,800 m² (116,000 sq ft) in space^[20] with a capacity of 1.5 million passengers a year.^[21]

In recent history, after years of constant expansion to meet growing traffic, the terminal's handling capacity increased tenfold to 15 million passengers a year as of 2023. It has a floor area of 40,948 m² (440,760 sq ft) with 20 boarding gates (4 aerobridge gates and 16 remote gates).^[6]

The terminal has two lounges: Lotus Lounge and Le Saigonnais Lounge.

Terminal 2

A new international terminal, constructed by a consortium of four Japanese contractors (KTOM, abbreviation of four contractors' names: Kajima – Taisei – Obayashi – Maeda), opened in December 2007 with an initial designed capacity of 10 million passengers a year. The terminal was funded by Japanese official development assistance at a cost of 219 million USD.^[22] Following the opening of its new international terminal in September 2007, Tan Son Nhat has two major terminal buildings with separate sections for international and domestic flights.

In 2014, the terminal served over 9 million international passengers^[23] and a demand of an expansion to the terminal was in sight. Plan for a 109 million-USD expansion of the international terminal was approved in August 2014.^[24] The first phase of an urgent expansion to the terminal was finished in December 2016 with the addition of 2 new jet bridges and other facilities.^[25] Upon the completion of phase two in 2018, the terminal has a floor area of 115,834 m² (1,246,830 sq ft)^[26] and 26 boarding gates, and can handle 13 million passengers annually.^[27]

There are a total of five passenger lounges situated in the International Terminal: Lotus Lounge 1 and 2, Le Saigonnais, Orchid Lounge, and Rose Business Lounge.

Terminal 3

A new passenger terminal for the airport broke ground on 24 December 2022. The new terminal will include 27 gates (13 jetbridges and 14 remote gates) for an annual handling capacity of 20 million passengers. The terminal building will have a total floor area of 112,500 m² (1,211,000 sq ft), and will be connected with a new 130,000 m² (1,400,000 sq ft) non-aviation services and parking complex by footbridges.^[28] The project has a budget of 10,986 billion VND (US$467.6 million)^[29] and was projected to be completed by the end of 2024, which is now slated to be completed by April 2025.^[30] Upon completion, the terminal will serve domestic flights to support the current domestic terminal.^[28]

Cargo terminal

Tan Son Nhat Airport currently has three cargo terminals. Two of them (Air Freight Terminal 1 and 2) are operated by Tan Son Nhat Cargo Services (TCS) and the other one is operated by Saigon Cargo Services Corporation (SCSC). These facilities have a handling capacity of 700,000 tonnes of cargo per year combined.

TCS's Air Freight Terminal 1 was the first cargo terminal at the airport. It was inaugurated on January 1, 1997.^[31] In May 2012, Air Freight Terminal 2 was opened after 20 months of construction. The latter was built at a cost of $15 million and covers an area of 13,700 m² (147,000 sq ft).^[32]

The Prime Minister of Vietnam, by Decision 1646/TTg-NN, has approved the addition of 40 hectares (99 acres) of the adjacent area to extend the apron and to build a cargo terminal to handle the rapid increase of passenger (expected to reach 17 million in 2010, compared to 7 million and 8.5 million in 2005 and 2006 respectively) and cargo volume at the airport.^[14][33]

The SCSC cargo terminal was constructed from March 2009 to December 2010 at a cost of $50 million.^[34] The cargo handling area consists of a 26,670 m² (287,100 sq ft) cargo terminal, 52,421 m² (564,250 sq ft) of apron area, and 64,000 m² (690,000 sq ft) of warehouse and other facilities.^[35]

Runways and air control

The airport has two parallel runways, namely 07L/25R, and 07R/25L. Since the runways are only 365 meters apart, they are operated dependently. Due to the maximum processing capacity of the passenger terminals (about 3,600 passengers/hour), the runway system's capacity is capped at 44 operations per hour.^[36]

The original air traffic control tower is situated between present-day taxiway Y1 and S5. It was originally built in 1949 before being rebuilt in 1959.^[37] During the Tet Offensive in 1968, the tower was damaged by a rocket^[38] and a new tower was built in June 1969.^[37]

A new 70-meter (230-feet) tall air control tower was put into use in 2013.^[39] The new airport control tower is situated in the corner area between the Domestic Terminal and the International Terminal.

There were four USAF ATRC facilities in Viet Nam in the 1960-1973 era. The one located on Tan son Nhut was designated Paris ATRC. Patty was located down in the Delta, there was one in Da Nang, and Pyramid was in the highlands. Paris operated on the top Dias inside the radar facility located mid-base with the US Army's Recovery and ground radio operations. The USAF 2027th Communications Squadron staffed the air traffic controllers that operate the scopes and handle all non-civilian in-country fixed wing radar traffic 24-7. Once Tan Son Nhut radar traffic got within 15 miles of the base it was normally handed off to Approach Control for sequencing and landing, which operated inside the air control tower. Usually none of the local helicopter traffic was under radar control; it was basically flown VFR and was based at Hotel 3. There was too much air traffic for controllers to be able to handle anything but fixed wing. In 70-71 VNAF controllers were introduced to work alongside the 2027th squadron's controllers to help with communication with pilots who did not speak English.^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

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Busiest international flights out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport by frequency (2018–present)

Rank	Destinations	Frequency (weekly)
1	Singapore	103
2	Bangkok (Don Mueang + Suvarnabhumi)	102
3	Seoul–Incheon	81
4	Kuala Lumpur–International	77
5	Taipei-Taoyuan	63
6	Tokyo (Haneda + Narita)	42
7	Siem Reap	42
8	Guangzhou	42
9	Hong Kong	39
10	Phnom Penh	35

Aircraft movement