Vinh International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Vinh) is located in
Vinh
Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...
city of
Nghệ An Province in northern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
. It is a mixed military/civil airport. It used to be one of the two major military airbases in Vietnam besides
Gia Lam Airbase in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
.
During 2002–2015, the airport saw the annual increase of passengers of 43.89%, the highest rate out of all airports in Vietnam. The airport served 1.8 million passengers in 2018.
History
The airport was built by the French in 1937, at first included a landing strip, aprons and fuel storage. In 1994, Vietnamese government invested 20 billion
VND to renovate the airport to receive commercial flights. In 1995,
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
-
Vinh
Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...
-
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...
flight route was inaugurated.
During 2001 — 2003, the airport saw a major upgrade to its infrastructure. The runway was extended to .
A new passenger terminal was constructed in 2014 and opened in 2015, serving domestic flights.
[ The old terminal was then converted to a temporary international terminal. In 2019, renovations to the old terminal were completed for it to be fully capable of handling international flights and bigger aircraft.
]
International flights
International services at the airport commenced in 2014 with scheduled flights by Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a state-owned enterprise in April 1989. Vietnam Airline ...
to Vientiane
Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
, Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
using ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...
airplanes. Despite a strong demand on road between Vinh and Vientiane with up to 180,000 people passing through border ports in Nghe An province annually, the air service only saw 50% load factor against a 10,000-seat annual capacity. Vietnam Airlines reported a $750,000 loss on the route in 2014. The route was ended on October 25, 2015.
In June 2016, Vietnamese travel agency Vietravel introduced charter service between Vinh and Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
using Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the fam ...
and A321
The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...
but the service was ended by June 2017 due to insufficient infrastructure at Vinh Airport. The service was reintroduced in February 2019 when the renovated international terminal at the airport was inaugurated.
Facilities
A new terminal with designed capacity of 3 million passengers per year and estimated cost of 800 billion VND (around $37.65 million) was opened in 2015.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
See also
* List of airports in Vietnam
* Gia Lam Airbase
References
External links
Vinh International Airport
1937 establishments in Vietnam
Airports established in 1937
Airports in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Nghệ An province
Vinh
{{Vietnam-airport-stub