The first commercial flight by Vietnam Airlines arrives at Long Thành International Airport on December 19, 2025. Việt Nam's largest airport will go into full commercial operations at the end of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

HÀ NỘI — The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is working to attract domestic and international airline services to the new Long Thành International Airport in the southern province of Đồng Nai, which is set to start full commercial operations at the end of this year.

In a report submitted to the Government on June 30, the company said it had received registrations from Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Vietravel Airlines to operate at the airport when it goes into operation in December.

Vietnam Airlines proposed transferring four routes currently departing from Tân Sơn Nhất airport in HCM City to Long Thành, going to Beijing Daxing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou Baiyun and Manila international airports.

Vietjet Air said it would maintain at least two international routes at Long Thành, while Vietravel Airlines said it would launch commercial flights at the end of this year and increase flight frequency from the summer of 2027.

Thirty-four foreign airlines have responded to ACV’s invitations and are in discussion with the company about their operational plans, including Korean Air, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

Management offices have been established to ensure the airport’s operations, which will wrap up personnel recruitment this month and get ready for the trial operation that will begin on September 15.

ACV has also signed a consulting contract with the Incheon Airport consortium, which will be responsible for the trial operation, and later, handover of technical expertise to their Vietnamese counterparts.

Dividing services between Tân Sơn Nhất and Long Thành airports is a crucial task as Việt Nam’s aviation market has been projected to grow rapidly in the next decade at 15 per cent per year, to become the fastest-growing aviation market in Southeast Asia by 2030 and the fifth globally by 2035, according to the report.

ACV expects to welcome approximately two million passengers per year to Long Thành by 2030, potentially those on long-haul flights from North America, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia.

The company will work to maintain Tân Sơn Nhất’s operations at its designed capacity of 50 million passengers per year until 2030, by retaining its domestic flights and short- to medium-haul international flights.

Twenty-one new direct flights are expected to be launched from the airport, going to China, Taiwan (China), and other potential markets such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the US, Thailand and Europe.

This will keep Tân Sơn Nhất from being overloaded and create options for airlines as to which airport they want to partner with after 2030, according to ACV.

To better monitor and address issues that may arise from Long Thành’s early operations, the company proposed that the Government approve a plan for its simultaneous operation and system adjustments, lasting six to nine months.

It also proposed that open, convenient visa policies continue to be developed and refined to accelerate the growth of the airport’s services and the aviation market as a whole.

The Government should consider expanding the list of visa-exempt countries, visa exemption period and the duration of temporary stay, simplifying the electronic visa issuance procedure, and expanding the scope of visa issuance at border gates for international tourists, ACV said. — VNS