The Hanoi People's Committee has broadly endorsed the proposed revision to Vietnam's national airport development plan for 2021 to 2030, with a vision to 2050, submitted by the Ministry of Construction. However, the city has urged authorities to include Hoa Lac as a potential airport under a dual military and civilian use model.
The municipal government also called for additional forecasts on passenger demand, airport scale, classification and runway orientation for the second airport serving the Hanoi Capital Region, proposed for Ung Hoa and Chuyen My communes, in line with international standards. It further requested greater clarity on the technical specifications and operational requirements for Hoa Lac Airport.
Hanoi also recommended selecting a suitable site for Ninh Binh Airport that aligns with the location of the proposed second airport for the Capital Region. The aim is to prevent overlaps in protected approach zones while optimising airspace management, flight procedures and related operational requirements.
In the draft revision of the national airport development plan for 2021 to 2030, with a vision to 2050, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposed adding Gia Binh, Tho Chu, Van Phong, Mang Den and Ninh Binh airports to the national network, while removing Bien Hoa and Haiphong airports from the plan.
Under the draft, Vietnam's airport system is projected to handle 236.3 million passengers and around 3.75 million tonnes of cargo annually during the 2021 to 2030 period.
By 2030, the country's airport network is expected to have a combined design capacity of 262.1 million passengers a year. The plan also aims to ensure that more than 95 per cent of the population can reach an airport within a distance of 100 kilometres.