On December 15, Flight VN5001 departed from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and successfully landed at Long Thanh International Airport. This is the first commercial flight to serve at Vietnam’s new mega-airport.
Four days later, on December 19, Flight VN1, carrying senior government officials and around 100 other passengers, landed for the airport's official opening. This event marked a historic milestone, as the airport met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s target to operate by December 19, 2025, as previously reported by Vietcetera.
Long Thanh International Airport is among Vietnam’s flagship infrastructure projects, expected to relieve congestion at Tan Son Nhat International Airport while emerging as a major aviation hub in Southeast Asia. Once fully completed across all three phases, the airport is designed to handle up to 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Below is our update since the latest report in September 2025.
The airport progress: Target to operate from June 2026
Long Thanh International Airport broke ground in January 2021 and is being developed in three phases. Phase 1, with an investment of US$5.4 billion, included two runways, each 4,000 metres long and 75 metres wide, along with a system of taxiways and aircraft aprons. Once completed, it is expected to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.
This phase comprises 15 contract packages. As of December 2025, three packages have been completed, with a total value of around VND 5 trillion (approximately US$200 million) . Of these, the first runway is 91% complete and welcomed its first flight on December 19. Construction of the second runway began on May 30, 2025 and has reached 19% completion, while the taxiways and aircraft apron are 74% complete. Overall project progress has reached 63%.
The passenger terminal - the most significant and highest-value package, with an investment of VND 35 trillion (around US$1.5 billion) - includes the terminal structure, baggage handling system, check-in areas and related technical facilities, and has reached 69% completion.
The remaining project components have completed basic construction and are committed to entering operation from June 2026.
Bridging the Gap: Connecting Long Thanh Airport and Ho Chi Minh City
Long Thanh International Airport is located in Long Thanh, Dong Nai province, 50km away from central Ho Chi Minh City. The access currently relies mainly on road transport, via the Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway and National Highways 1 and 51, all of which are already congested.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has approved the Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh Expressway expansion project to be carried out under emergency procedures, according to Document No. 5889/VPCP-CN dated June 26, 2025.
Launched on August 19, 2025, the project is expected to operate in December 2026, with 8–10 lanes and a total investment of about US$610 million.
However, as of November 2025, according to a VOV report, site clearance has continued to face delays. In Ho Chi Minh City, compensation plans have yet to be finalized, and there is still no clear timeline for handing over cleared land to the contractor. At the most recent meeting with residents living near the project site, authorities said compensation and site clearance are not expected to be completed until March 2026.
In addition, in December 2025, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee submitted a proposal to implement the Thu Thiem–Long Thanh Airport urban railway project under a public–private partnership (PPP) model. The project is expected to run from 2025 to 2031.
Meanwhile, Truong Hai Group (THACO) is studying an investment proposal to integrate Metro Line No. 2 (the Ben Thanh–Thu Thiem section) with the Thu Thiem–Long Thanh railway under a build–transfer (BT) model. If approved by the city as the investor, THACO is ready to break ground in 2026 and complete the project by 2030.
80% of international flights will be operated at Long Thanh International Airport
According to Official Dispatch No. 10965/BXD-KCHT sent by the Ministry of Construction to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in October 2025, once in operation, all international routes with distances of 1,000 kilometres or more (accounting for 80% of international flights) will then be operated at Long Thanh International Airport. Tan Son Nhat International Airport will just only operate a few international routes, between Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand, Cambodia, Lao, accounts for 15-17%.
As Ho Chi Minh City positions itself as an international financial hub, the plan is intended to respond to growing travel demand while attracting more foreign experts and investors working at Vietnam’s international financial centre in the city. The scale of Long Thanh International Airport, alongside the development of the financial hub in Ho Chi Minh City, is expected to strengthen Vietnam’s positioning as an increasingly attractive destination for regional and international investment.
Turning that vision into reality will now hinge less on the airport’s construction milestones, but more on its effectiveness once operational. Key challenges will include synchronising transport links, ensuring passenger flow between Ho Chi Minh City and the airport, and avoiding the bottlenecks that have plagued other large-scale infrastructure projects.