New terminal to double Hanoi's air capacity
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Vietnam has started operating a new US$900-million airport terminal that will nearly double Hanoi's flight capacity, the latest move in expanding what is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets.
Passenger planes took off yesterday from Noi Bai Terminal 2, Hanoi airport’s new wing that will handle 10 million passengers per year and up to 15 million in future as demand rises for air travel at home and abroad.
Noi Bai has been over stretched for years with only one terminal and capacity of 12 million annual passengers. The new terminal formally opens on December 31.
Foreign arrivals in Vietnam rose more than 10 per cent last year to 7.6 million, government data showed, while domestic demand is climbing amid rapid middle-class growth and competition between airlines in a country with underdeveloped infrastructure.
Vietnam is poised to be the world’s seventh-fastest growing market for international passengers during 2013-2017, as a regional open-skies initiative takes off and Southeast Asia moves towards an integrated economic community, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Vietnam’s passenger traffic almost doubled between 2008 and2013, IATA said.
The country also plans for a $18.7 billion international airport in Ho Chi Minh City as the existing Tan Son Nhat airport will be at full capacity of 25 million passengers a year in 2016.
