Golden opportunity for Van Don International Airport

Van Don International Airport will become an important air traffic hub of the region.

Major traffic hub

After more than 6 months of research, the Ministry of Construction began collecting comments from ministries and branches on the planning dossier for Van Don International Airport for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

It is known that the Van Don International Airport Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, was organized by the Ministry of Construction (formerly the Ministry of Transport) by receiving sponsored products as planning documents from Van Don International Airport Enterprise - Van Don Investment and Development Joint Stock Company.

According to Mr. Do Hong Cam, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the Master Plan for the development of the national airport system for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, has been approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 648/QD-TTg dated June 7, 2023. Van Don International Airport is determined to reach an expected design capacity of 5 million passengers/year by 2030, and a vision to 2050 with an expected design capacity of 20 million passengers/year.

Therefore, to ensure that the planning of Van Don International Airport (technical and specialized in nature) is consistent with the Master Plan for the development of the national airport and seaport system approved by the Prime Minister (national sector planning), it is necessary to review and adjust the planning of Van Don International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Planning of Van Don International Airport for the period up to 2020, with a vision to 2030, was approved by the Ministry of Transport (old) in Decision No. 497/QD-BGTVT dated March 15, 2018, with the function of an international airport, shared by civil and military use with a capacity of 2 - 2.5 million passengers/year. Oriented to 2030, Van Don International Airport will only accommodate 5 million passengers/year and 51,000 tons of cargo/year.

“For the above reasons, planning Van Don International Airport is very necessary and needs to be studied immediately, in order to synchronize with the Master Plan for the development of the national airport system for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, while meeting the requirements of socio-economic development, national security and defense and growth of the aviation industry,” said Mr. Do Hong Cam.

It should be added that, although there are still many steps to be completed, through this planning document, we can partly visualize the position and role in the next 5-20 years of Van Don International Airport - the first and only private airport in the country up to now.

The first highlight is that in the 2021-2030 period, Van Don International Airport is proposed to keep the T1 passenger terminal, with a capacity of 2.5 million passengers/year, and plan a new T2 passenger terminal with a capacity of about 2.5 million passengers/year to the South.

Vision to 2050, Van Don International Airport will maintain the T1 passenger terminal, expand the T2 passenger terminal to the South with a capacity of 5 million passengers/year; plan a new T3 terminal to the North of the Air Traffic Control Tower with a capacity of about 12.5 million passengers/year, bringing the total capacity of the entire Airport to 20 million passengers/year.

General aviation terminals have separate areas in the passenger terminal because general aviation mainly serves private aircraft and business passengers.

In addition, in the vision to 2050, Van Don International Airport is planned to add 1 parallel runway 215 m west of the existing runway with dimensions of 3,000 x 45 m, material curb size according to regulations.

Another highlight is that in the planning dossier that is seeking opinions from ministries, branches and localities, Van Don International Airport is proposed to plan the largest and most synchronous aircraft repair and maintenance service system (hangar) in the Northern region at present.

Specifically, in the period 2021-2030, Van Don International Airport is planned to have a hangar area to meet the operations of airlines with a hangar configuration that can accommodate 4 wide-body aircraft and 2 narrow-body aircraft; with reserves for expansion when needed.

By 2050, Van Don International Airport is planned to expand its aircraft repair hangar to accommodate 6 wide-body aircraft and 3 narrow-body aircraft.

Currently, HAECO Group, one of the world's leading independent aircraft maintenance and engineering groups, headquartered at Hong Kong International Airport, is planning to cooperate with Sun Group to research and invest in aircraft repair hangar projects; other investors and activities wish to invest in cargo terminals, food processing areas... at Van Don International Airport.

“This is a favorable opportunity for Van Don International Airport to cover all aviation services, and at the same time become a center for aircraft repair and production of machinery, spare parts, and structural equipment for large aircraft in the region,” said Mr. Nguyen Quyet Thang, Deputy General Director of Aviation Services and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company (AEC).

Towards a regional aviation hub

It is known that Van Don International Airport has been basically constructed according to the approved planning since 2015 (except for the taxiway part that has not been completed as planned) and has been completed and put into use, officially commercial exploitation since December 2018.

However, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected the world economy in general and Vietnam in particular, directly affecting flight operations at Van Don International Airport. The exploitation level at Van Don International Airport is still low, not reaching 10% of the design capacity.

According to AEC, Van Don International Airport is planned to serve the majority of domestic and international tourists to famous tourist areas of Quang Ninh, with the potential to attract a large number of tourists from Northeast Asian countries, but it has inevitably suffered a sharp decline in traffic that has not yet recovered.

In addition, due to planning limitations, Van Don International Airport currently does not provide enough services such as cargo terminal, aircraft repair hangar, food processing area and airport service areas, thus not attracting major airlines to deploy flights to Quang Ninh, especially not attracting aircraft repair and maintenance companies with maintenance, repair and major repair needs.

However, according to AEC, Van Don International Airport is facing golden opportunities to break through and become an important aviation traffic hub and aviation industrial base in the country and the region.

In terms of geographical location, within a radius of 2,000 km, Van Don International Airport can connect with major air cargo centers in the region and the world. Van Don International Airport is only a few hours flight from economic, financial and tourist centers in the region, so it is convenient for the development of international tourism and trade.

If calculated by modern air routes, from Van Don it only takes 1-2 hours of flight to reach the economic, financial and tourist centers of China and the capitals of countries in the Southeast Asian region and it also takes only 3-4 hours of flight to reach Beijing (China), Seoul (Korea), Tokyo (Japan).

In particular, the Van Don Economic Zone has been identified by the Government as one of the key, strategic areas for Vietnam's socio-economic development. The ambitious goal set is that by 2030, Van Don will become a green, modern, smart coastal city, and at the same time a leading economic and cultural center in the region.

This vision emphasizes the role of Van Don as a new growth pole, capable of reshaping the development landscape of the Northeast region. In that strategic context, Van Don International Airport holds a key position.

At the end of June 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1395/QD-TTg approving the investment policy of the High-end Complex Tourism Project in Van Don Economic Zone (Quang Ninh), with an investment capital of about 2 billion USD.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, this project will create a huge driving force for the region in general and Van Don International Airport in particular, not only increasing passenger traffic, but also opening up great potential for the development of cargo transport, contributing to making Van Don a leading economic, tourism and service center in the region and the whole country.

It is estimated that the passenger growth rate of Van Don International Airport in the 2025-2030 period will average 72%/year; the average in the 2021-2030 period will reach 43.62%/year; the 2030-2040 period will reach 24.5%/year; and the 2040-2050 period will reach 6.2%/year.

"The planning scheme has been consulted and studied, ensuring optimality in the planning of functional areas and feasibility in the investment plan for the construction of Van Don International Airport to meet future development needs," said a representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/co-hoi-vang-cho-cang-hang-khong-quoc-te-van-don-d383767.html