Tan Son Nhat International Airport

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Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport
Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất
IATA: SGN - ICAO: VVTS
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Southern Airports Services Company
Serves Ho Chi Minh City
Elevation AMSL 33 ft (10 m)
Coordinates 10°49′08″N, 106°39′07″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07L/25R 10,000 3,048 Concrete
07R/25L 12,468 3,800 Concrete

See Tan Son Nhut Air Base for a description of the airfield while operated as a military airfield by the USAF and VNAF.

Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS), Vietnam's largest international airport, serves Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. Its IATA code, SGN, was derived from the city's former name Saigon.

Contents

[edit] History

Tan Son Nhat International Airport has its origins in the early 1930s, when the French Colonial government constructed a small unpaved airport, known as Tân Sơn Nhất Airfield in the village of Tan Son Nhat. By mid-1956 United States foreign aid built a 7,200-foot runway and the facility became South Vietnam's international airport. During the Vietnam War, Tan Son Nhut Air Base (then using the alternative spelling Tân Sơn Nhứt) was an important facility for both the United States and the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). Before 1975, Tan Son Nhat International Airport had been one of the busiest airbases worldwide.

On December 9, 2004, United Airlines became the first U.S. airline to fly to Vietnam since Pan Am's last flight during the Fall of Saigon. UA869 (a Boeing 747-400) landed at Ho Chi Minh City, which was a continuation of United's San Francisco–Hong Kong service. In 2006, this airport served approximately 8.5 million passengers with 64.000 aircraft movements [1]. Tan Son Nhat Airport has recently accounted for nearly two thirds of the international arrivals and departures in all of Vietnam's airports.

Due to the increasing demand (about 15% per annum), this airport has been continuously expanded by the Southern Airports Authority.

[edit] The New International Terminal

The New International Terminal is under construction by a Consortium of four Japanese contractors, KTOM. The invested capital for this terminal is around $260 million, funded by Japan Government Official Development Assistance (ODA). Upon completion at the end of 2006, this four-story Terminal will cover 100,000 square meters, with eight airbridges and state-of-art equipment and will have a capacity of 8 to 10 million international passengers per annum. The current terminal will serve domestic passengers only.

[edit] The future of this airport

The current Tan Son Nhat airport is located inside the crowded city of Ho Chi Minh City, and a limited area for expansion and safety concerns would make it hard to upgrade in order to meet increasing demand. According to a recent decision by the Vietnam Prime Minister, a new airport - Long Thanh International Airport - will replace Tan Son Nhat airport as the country's leading international airport. The Master Plan for this new airport was approved in April 2006, according to which, the new airport will be built in Long Thanh county, Dong Nai province, about 50 km North-East of Ho Chi Minh City and 70 km South-West of the petroleum city of Vung Tau, near Highway 51A. The pre-feasibility study for this project is under way. The Long Thanh International Airport will be constructed on an area of 50 km². It will have four runways (4,000 m x 60 m) and will be capable of receiving the super jumbojet, the A380. The project is scheduled to start in 2007 and will be divided in two stages. Stage one includes 2 parallel runways (4,000 m x 60 m) and a Terminal with the capacity of 20 million passengers per year, to be completed in 2010. The 2nd Stage is planned to be finished in 2015, leaving the airport with 3 passenger terminals and a cargo terminal designed to receive 80 to 100 million passengers and 5 million metric tonnes of cargo per year. The total invested capital of this project is estimated $ 8 billion. Upon completion of Long Thanh International Airport, Tan Son Nhat Airport will serve domestic passengers only. Long Thanh International Airport is expected to be the leading airport in Indochina Peninsula, and one of the busiest air transportation hubs in the South-East Asian Region.

[edit] Facilities

Tan Son Nhat currently operates from a single terminal building with separate sections for International and Domestic flights. 4 aerobridges were added in the late 1990s prior to which planes parked away from the terminal and passengers took buses to/from the terminal. The current capacity of this terminal is 7 million passengers per annum.

A new International Terminal is currently under construction with the first phase due for opening in 2007. When fully completed this four floor terminal will increase capacity to 8 million passengers a year and the total capacity of this airport will reach 15 million passengers per year. The current terminal will become fully domestic. After 2015, when Long Thanh International Airport is completed, Tan Son Nhat will serve domestic passengers only.

Both Arrivals and Departures are split across two floors.

[edit] Arrivals

Arriving passengers deplane through jetways, although some flights may be parked away from the terminal and require a short walk to immigration that is located on the upper level. Immigration desks are available for both ASEAN and non-ASEAN residents, who generally must be in possession of a visa before arrival. After immigration passengers will move downstairs to pick up baggage. There are toilet facilities and a few Duty Free shops available in the baggage hall. After luggage has been collected it will need to be presented for screening along with a correctly completed customs form, prior to leaving the terminal.

A currency exchange desk is located immediately after customs prior to leaving the terminal. There are no facilities for non-passengers to enter the arrivals area and they are limited to meeting passengers outside the terminal. It is here that it is possible to pick up taxis, motorcycles or a bus into the city.

The airconditioned airport bus, service number 152, is the cheapest way into the city. It is especially useful for tourists as it passes most of the major hotels along Đ De Tham and Đ Dong Khoi.

[edit] Departures

Only passengers are allowed inside the terminal.

Passengers enter the terminal on the lower level where check-in formalities are completed. Non-ASEAN passengers are then required to purchase departure tax. As of April 2006 this is US$14 for adults, US$7 for children aged 2 to 12 and no charge for under-2's. All passengers must then head upstairs. Trolleys are not allowed to be taken upstairs but smaller trolleys are normally available on the upper level.

Passengers complete passport control formalities and then pass into the departure lounge that contains a few shops and a single restaurant that charges very western prices - typically around US$3 for a soft drink. Flights are normally called and passengers need to present themselves at the gate for baggage screening and boarding, normally through jetways.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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