Vietnam Airlines, the national airline, will be the first carrier to operate flights out of the new terminal. All other airlines with international flights will follow suit and the changeover is due to be completed by 31 December.
Do Tat Binh is the project manager tasked with ensuring the US$645 million terminal opens according to schedule. He told reporters in Hanoi that everything is on time and quality control targets have been satisfied.
Noi Bai is Vietnam’s second busiest airport and is the main gateway to the capital city of Hanoi. The airport’s annual capacity is currently nine million passengers a year, but over the past few years passenger numbers have been around the 15 million mark.
Terminal 2 will increase the annual capacity to 19 million passengers. Construction work on the four-storey Terminal 2 commenced in March 2012 and it features 48 check-in desks with the space to add another 12. Shuttle buses will link Terminal 2 to the old passenger building.
New terminal at Hanoi Airport for Xmas
News in Asia
The new passenger terminal at Vietnam’s Hanoi Airport is officially scheduled to open on Christmas Day. Terminal 2 at Noi Bai International Airport will open when passengers board Vietnam Airlines operated flight number VN661 for Singapore.