Nội Bài International Airport (IATA:HAN,ICAO:VVNB) inHanoi, the capital ofVietnam, is the country’s second largest and busiestinternational airport for passenger traffic, afterTan Son Nhat International Airport inHo Chi Minh City. It is currently the main airport serving Hanoi, replacing the role ofGia Lam Airport. The airport consists of two passenger terminals and a cargo terminal. Terminal 1 serves domestic flights, and Terminal 2 (inaugurated on 4 January 2015) serves all international flights to and from Hanoi. The airport is currently the main hub of the flag carrierVietnam Airlines, travel carrierVietravel Airlines, and an operating base of budget carriersBamboo Airways andVietJet Air.
The airport is located in Phú Minh commune inSóc Sơn district, about 35 km (22 mi) northeast of downtown Hanoi, via the newNhật Tân Bridge (also inaugurated on 4 January 2015).[2] It can also be reached by National Road 3, which connects it with the eastern suburbs of Hanoi. The airport is also close to some satellite cities of Hanoi such asVĩnh Yên,Bắc Ninh andThái Nguyên.The airport served a total of 13 million passengers in 2013, despite having a capacity of only 9 million at the time. The new international terminal, which had its first commercial flight on 25 December 2014[3] and went into full operation on 31 December 2014, has boosted the airport's total capacity to 20 million passengers per year. In 2018, the airport served 28 million passengers.[4][5] The airport's IATA code,HAN, is derived from the city's current name ofHanoi.
Of the routes the airport offers, the Hanoi –Ho Chi Minh City route is thebusiest flight in Southeast Asia and the fourth busiest in the world, serving 10,883,555 customers in 2023, an increase of 3% in comparison to 2022.[6]
The airport was developed immediately south of thePhúc Yên Air Base and opened on 2 January 1978. Civil operation was only between communist countries, with international flights from China, East Germany, Soviet Union, and after the unification, adding other countries in the Southeast Asia region. Handling these flights were a set of three small buildings: Terminal G2 (Vietnamese: Ga 2 - Ga Quốc tế đi) for international departures, Terminal G3 (Vietnamese: Ga 3 - Ga hàng không đường bay trong nước) for domestic departures and arrivals, and Terminal G4 (Vietnamese: Ga 4 - Ga Quốc tế đến) for international arrivals. These terminals were continuously renovated to handle the increasing number of flights. However, in the end they were too small for the actual need, and the new terminal was built and was completed to operate in 2001. The old terminals were then demolished to make place for the current cargo terminal.
In 2005,Tiger Airways started thrice-weekly flights between Hanoi and Singapore after launching direct flights betweenHồ Chí Minh City and Singapore becoming the firstbudget airline to operate in Vietnam. It was later joined by low-cost carrierAirAsia when they launched direct flights between Hanoi andBangkok andKuala Lumpur.[citation needed]
The second runway (1B – 11R/29L) opened in 2006 and the following year the airport hosted anAirbus A380 for the first time, although no scheduled A380 services are operated from the airport. 2013 saw the first arrival of aCargoluxBoeing 747-8F.[citation needed] In 2014, the airport received its first scheduled service with the newest generation of commercial aircraft whenAll Nippon Airways started using aBoeing 787-8 on services between toTokyo–Haneda and later the same year the airport received its first visit ofAirbus A350 XWB operated by Airbus on World Tour trip. In 2015,Vietnam Airlines started to operate theAirbus A350 XWB for commercial domestic flights.[citation needed]
The airport has been aSkyTeam hub since mid-2010, after Vietnam Airlines joined the network that year.[7]
At 650 hectares, Noi Bai is the second-largest airport in Vietnam, behind the 800 hectareTan Son Nhat International Airport. Terminal 1, completed in 2001, used to be the sole terminal handling both domestic and international flights. However, with the opening of the second terminal, it is now reassigned to handle domestic flights only. The terminal saw its first extension in 2013 with the inauguration of the new lobby E, and was capable of handling 9 million passengers per annum.[8] The terminal is currently being upgraded to handle 15 million passengers annually upon completion in March 2018.[9]
The construction of the new terminal (Terminal 2) next to the existing one with a designed capacity of 10 million passengers per annum started in March 2012. The 996 m long new terminal building, funded by aJapan International Cooperation AgencyODA loan was designed by Japan Airport Consultants and was built byTaisei Corporation. The total investment for the project was ¥75.5 billion (US$645.35 million). Japan's official development assistance accounted for ¥59 billion ($504.27 million) of the investment, while the remaining amount was covered by local funds.[10] The new international terminal was inaugurated on 4 January 2015[2] together with a new freeway connecting the airport to downtown Hanoi via theNhật Tân Bridge.
The airport has a 3,800-meter paved runway (CAT II – 11R/29L) which opened in August 2006 and an older 3,200-meter paved runway (CAT I – 11L/29R). The older runway was closed for upgrades for 4 months from August to December 2014. The distance between the two runways is only 250 metres, so the airport currently restricts the maximum passenger capacity in accordance withInternational Civil Aviation Organization safety regulations.
The AMAN/DMAN system was implemented at the airport in October 2021 to manage and arrange the shortest flight trajectory of each flight, allowing to increased passenger capacity and airspace operations.[11]
Following the inauguration of the new international terminal, the Noi Bai International Airport received the World's Most Improved Airport Award fromSkytrax.[12][13]
The construction project of the new Noi Bai international terminal also received theJICA President Award for 2015.[14]
One can generally do an international transit through the airport without a visa as long as one does not need to leave the security area.[15] There is the ability to pick up boarding passes within the security area including for some low cost airlines like VietJet.
^"인천공항공사, 국내 최초로 저비용 항공사 화물기 유치" [Incheon International Airport Corporation Will Be the First Low-Cost Cargo Carrier in Korea] (in Korean). Segye News. 21 June 2022.
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