The new Vietnamese Van Don International Airport was officially opened. It is located 50 kilometers from Ha Long Bay in the north of the country.
The first ever Vietnamese airport, built with the money of the private investor Sun Group, opened for commercial flights in early January 2019 in the province of Quang Ninh. Now it is the closest airport to Halong Bay among the country’s air transport hubs.
Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam – it is one of the most popular sightseeing destinations.
The construction of the airport was carried out for two years and cost the investors 310 million USD.
Van Don International Airport, built with the participation of Dutch specialists, will receive up to 2.5 million passengers annually over the next two years, and capacity will grow to 5 million passengers by 2030.
As stated, the new airport is primarily focused on flights from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia, as well as receiving domestic flights. At the moment, Vietnam Airlines is already flying to Van Don, but from January 20, Vietjet will open flights from Ho Chi Minh City.
The creation of Van Don was carried out under the plan of the Vietnamese government to build 13 international and 15 domestic airports by 2023. Currently, in Vietnam, taking into account the new airport, there are 21 airports.
Right up to the opening of the new airport, passengers wishing to visit Ha Long Bay most often flew to Haiphong or Hanoi airport, and then took a bus to the bay.