Can Tho International Airport ( vi, Sân bay Quốc tế Cần Thơ), formerly Trà Nóc Airport is an airport located in

Can Tho Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * Ca ...

in Mekong Delta region of

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 i ...

. The airport was inaugurated on January 1, 2011 and received

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

150 million to build on of land. It aimed to be able to process up to 5 million passengers a year. It will serve air travel in the region, boost Mekong Delta's economy, improving defence, security and international integration.

History

Trà Nóc Airport was originally constructed during the Vietnam War in 1965 by

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

(USAF) civil engineering units as a military airfield, which became Binh Thuy Air Base. It was used by the USAF as well as being the Headquarters of the

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

(VNAF) 4th Air Division until 1975. On 19 April 1969 the VAL-4 Light Attack Squadron began combat operations, flying air support for the Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. The missions included normal patrol, overhead air cover, scramble alert and gunfire/artillery spotting. On 31 March 1972 the squadron conducted its last combat mission prior to its disestablishment on 10 April 1972. After 1975, the facility was initially unused, then later operated as a small regional airport for

. It was expanded and upgraded to international status, with completion due in 2008.

Upgrading of Trà Nóc airport

The expansion work of Trà Nóc airport started on 4 January 2006. The project will be implemented in two phases, covering an area of 85.04 ha. *Phase 1: due to be completed in 2008, work including: improvement of the paved runway (2,400 m x 45 m), apron (27,491 m2), cost estimate: 370 billion VND ($23 million). Upon completion, this airport will be capable to handle medium range aircraft such as the Airbus A320, A321, and the Boeing 767. *Phase 2: construction of a new terminal (19,000 m2), cargo terminal and other facilities. Cost estimate: 400–500 billion VND ($25 to 31 million). The capacity of this terminal is 2 million passengers per year.

Current status

The airport is operating at loss, serving only 20% of its designed capacity. In 2017 the 917th Mixed Air Transport Regiment (a.k.a. Đồng Tháp Squadron) of 370th Air Force Division in the

Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese ...

was moved to Cần Thơ from

Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base duri ...

Airlines and Destinations

References

External links