Passengers crowd the departure hall at the new T3 terminal of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City during the 2026 Tết holiday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Passenger traffic through Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport reached an all-time high on Sunday (the sixth day of Tết or the Lunar New Year), with nearly 178,000 travellers passing through the country’s busiest aviation hub.

According to the airport authority, the airport handled about 1,069 arrivals and departures during the day, including 988 passenger flights carrying close to 178,000 people.

The figure was nearly 60,000 higher than on a normal day and around 13,000 above earlier peak forecasts for the country’s most important traditional holiday.

Inbound traffic to HCM City accounted for the majority of the surge, with nearly 105,000 arrivals, including more than 71,000 domestic passengers returning from provinces after the holiday. Outbound traffic was lower, comprising roughly 41,500 domestic and nearly 32,000 international passengers.

Passenger volumes have remained elevated since the third day of Tết, largely driven by travellers returning to the southern economic hub.

This year, the commissioning of the new T3 domestic terminal has helped ease pressure on the older T1 facility.

During the holiday period, T3 handled the largest share of domestic traffic, operating an average of more than 450 flights per day.

All flights operated by Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, VASCO, Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines and Sun Phú Quốc Airways have been relocated to T3, while T1 is now used exclusively by VietJet Air.

The international T2 terminal also recorded heavy traffic, averaging more than 60,000 passengers daily.

On the sixth day of Tết alone, T2 processed nearly 65,000 passengers on 334 flights, the highest level in several years.

Despite the surge, airport authorities reported no major congestion or disorder, in contrast to previous holiday peaks.

However, passengers experienced longer waiting times for checked baggage during rush hours when multiple flights landed in quick succession.

To mitigate overcrowding, the airport coordinated with relevant agencies to regulate passenger flows by time slots, flexibly arrange check-in counters, baggage belts and boarding gates, and continue applying biometric identification systems to shorten processing times.

Authorities advised passengers to prepare all necessary documents, carefully check flight and terminal information, and arrive at least two hours before domestic departures and three hours before international flights to avoid delays.

Tết, Việt Nam’s Lunar New Year and the country’s most important traditional holiday, is being observed this year with a nine-day nationwide break, driving a sharp rise in travel demand. — VNS