Hurry back after Tet

Airports and train stations are crowded but not overloaded.

Early morning of February 2 (the 5th day of the Lunar New Year), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HCMC) informed about the passenger service plan for the day which is expected to be the busiest after the Lunar New Year. The last day of the Lunar New Year holiday coincides with the weekend so many families choose this time to return to HCMC.

People return to Ho Chi Minh City on the 5th, ending the Lunar New Year holiday.

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

According to the plan, Tan Son Nhat Airport will serve more than 150,500 passengers and operate 979 flights, of which more than 93,000 will arrive and 57,000 will depart. The figure of 150,500 has set a new record for the number of passengers traveling during the 2025 Tet holiday at the busiest airport in the country.

A representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport said: In contrast to the time before Tet - when a large number of passengers will put pressure on the check-in area of airlines, security screening procedures and the waiting room in front of the plane, at this time, the large number of passengers arriving on the last 1-2 days of the holiday requires the coordination of take-off/landing flights, coordination of buses, taxis and clearing of the baggage claim area in a convenient and quick manner.

To quickly clear the landing passengers, Tan Son Nhat airport has increased its staff and airport security staff have also participated in coordinating and supporting passengers from the terminal area and parking lot. During this time, due to the high demand for passenger travel by means such as taxis and technology cars, the waiting time is quite long. In fact, drivers of technology cars picking up passengers at Tan Son Nhat airport said that on February 1 (the 4th day of Tet), after 10 am, the airport received a large number of passengers. Taxis and technology cars were constantly turning around but still could not keep up, passengers had to wait a long time to get a car. Therefore, from now until February 5 (the 8th day of Tet), 2 free shuttle buses will continue to be arranged for passengers from the airport to the parking area in front of the airport gate to easily and conveniently pick up a car, similar to the peak period before Tet.

Another special point is that this year, flights are arranged evenly from morning to night, many families choose night flights, early morning to avoid the crowded airport like every year. Therefore, although the airport on the 4th and 5th peak days of Tet is more crowded than usual, service, security and aviation safety are still guaranteed.

According to Thanh Nien reporters, the afternoon from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City during the "golden hours" - morning and noon - at Noi Bai airport was crowded but not overloaded, the security check-in area and baggage screening were quite open. Similarly, the landing point at Tan Son Nhat airport was also not congested, people could get their luggage quickly and easily. In addition, according to a representative of Tan Son Nhat Airport, the demand for spring travel of Vietnamese people is increasing rapidly, many families have chosen to go abroad from the beginning of the new year instead of staying in their hometowns in the northern provinces until the end of Tet like before, so the pressure at Tan Son Nhat in the days after Tet is also divided equally to the international terminal, not concentrated locally on the domestic terminal.

Similarly, at Saigon station, the last days of the holiday are also getting "hotter". Most people who take the train arrange to return to Ho Chi Minh City 1-2 days in advance to have more time to rest after the long journey. During the days from the 3rd to the 5th of the lunar calendar, the trains all arrive at the station at scattered times, and technology motorbike taxis and taxis are always on duty to serve passengers, so there is no congestion or jostling. Passengers get off the train on time and take the bus home in an orderly and quick manner.

"Heat" poured on the road

While airports and train stations have cooled down a lot compared to previous years, the post-Tet tension has been concentrated on the highways. Before Tet, a series of highways from Ho Chi Minh City to the Eastern and Southwestern provinces were congested; and after Tet, this situation recurred, even more seriously, because many families who had plans to travel after Tet also returned at this time.

A line of cars lined up for kilometers to Ho Chi Minh City yesterday afternoon.

PHOTO: HT

At noon yesterday, February 2, due to the large number of vehicles from Phan Thiet City turning into Ba Bau intersection to get onto Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway to move to Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, the Highway Traffic Police Patrol Team No. 6 had to close Ba Bau intersection and redirect the vehicles to National Highway 1A. The amount of vehicles coming from the expressway caused a serious traffic jam on National Highway 1A for nearly 3 hours. Vehicles moved slowly, queuing for more than 10 km from Ham Thuan Nam District to Ham Tan District ( Binh Thuan ).

"Complaining to the heavens" on his personal Facebook page, Mr. Thanh Loc (residing in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) said: His family returned from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of the 4th day of Tet, a day earlier than the scheduled return to work to avoid traffic jams. Unexpectedly, the entire Cam Lam - Vinh Hao expressway extending to Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet was terribly congested. It took more than 4 hours to get through the expressway, arriving in Phan Thiet at nearly 9 pm, and with 2 small children at home, Mr. Loc decided to find a hotel to stay overnight, and continue his journey to Ho Chi Minh City early the next morning.

"I planned to leave early this morning, but when I woke up, my tire was suddenly flat. I must have run into a nail last night. I called for a long time before the rescue team came to change the tire. It took almost 11 hours to get there, right at the traffic jam on the way to Dong Nai . My family didn't have to go through National Highway 1, but just continued on the highway, then entered the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway and continued to drive slowly. Only after passing the An Phu intersection did we feel like we could breathe again. It took more than 20 hours to get from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City," said Thanh Loc.

The western gateway area, along National Highway 1 , also began to be crowded with traffic from noon on the 4th (February 1), when tens of thousands of people from the West continuously poured into Ho Chi Minh City. The closer to the city, the slower the traffic moved, especially the section through Binh Chanh District. The road from Nguyen Van Linh to Binh Dien Bridge and National Highway 50 (from Da Phuoc to Nguyen Van Linh) became more crowded as the evening of February 2 approached. Many families rode motorbikes carrying a lot of belongings and gifts from home, making the roads even more stuffy.

It was predicted that after the Lunar New Year holiday, people from the Central and Northern provinces and cities would return to Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong... to study and work, so the Highway Traffic Control Patrol Team No. 6 had planned in advance, creating a traffic diversion plan when the highways under its management were congested or had accidents causing prolonged traffic jams. Accordingly, proactively having a remote traffic diversion plan, flexibly regulating the number of vehicles going onto the highway, continuously opening and closing at intersections, avoiding too many vehicles going onto the highway, causing a local "no way out" congestion. However, due to the large number of people returning to the city, it was inevitable that the tension would arise again every time the Tet holiday ended, people hurriedly returned to the city for the next new year.

Traffic police forces coordinate with mobile police to be on duty 24/7 at the intersections of the highway leading to National Highway 1, coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City Police forces to regulate and direct traffic throughout the gateways, national highways, bus station areas, train stations, airports... so that people can safely return to Ho Chi Minh City after Tet.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoi-ha-tro-lai-sau-tet-185250202212118335.htm