Tan Son Nhat International Airport Introduction

It can be said that Tan Son Nhat is the largest international airport in Vietnam that serves Ho Chi Minh City. Located about 7 kilometers from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, the airport was first built in the 1930s, when the French Colonial government constructed a small unpaved airport, known as Tân Sơn Nhất Airfield, in the village of Tan Son Nhat. By 1956 US foreign aid had built a 7,200ft runway and the facility became South Vietnam’s international airport.

During the Vietnam War, Tan Son Nhat Air Base played an important base for both the United States Air Force (USAF) and the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF).
Prior to the end of the war in 1975, Tan Son Nhat International Airport had been one of the busiest airbases worldwide. In 2006, the airport served approximately 8.5 million passengers (compared with seven million in 2005) with 64,000 aircraft movements.

How to get Tan Son Nhat Airport

From the downtown Ho Chi Minh City, you can take an airport taxi with the cost of 120,000 to 150,000 VND (about 8 USD) or travel by bus which costs about 3,000 per person.

Tan son Nhat importance and finance

Tan Son Nhat Airport now accounts for nearly two-thirds of the international arrivals and departures in all of Vietnam’s airports. The airport is controlled by the Southern Airports Authority and has undergone various expansion projects to keep up with demand.
In 2002 the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam put forward a construction plan for a new international terminal at the airport. The project plan followed a special Japan Government Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation JBIC of $260m (VND3.4tn).

The loan was provided for equipment purchases and for consultancy services and has a term of 40 years, with ten years interest-free. JBIC loans normally cover 85% of project costs. The rest is sourced from the Southern Aviation Administration budget.