HCMC – The government of Danang City is seeking approval from the Ministry of Transport to increase the number of flights and passengers at the Danang International Airport, including building a new passenger terminal to meet rising travel demand.

Danang proposed that the ministry raise the airport’s overall capacity to 25 million passengers per year by 2030 and to 30 million annually by 2050, the local media reported.

To handle the projected number of passengers, passenger terminal T2 would remain unchanged in serving international flights, while passenger terminal T1 would be expanded southeastward, the city suggested.

The municipal government proposed developing the domestic passenger terminal T3 project on the southeastern area of the airport after 2030.

In addition, the airport’s runway should be extended from 3,048 meters to 3,190 meters.

Also, the existing apron needs to be expanded eastward with 73 parking lots. A new apron with 19 parking lots would be built in the western section of the airport after 2030, according to the recommendations.

The airport expansion would cost nearly VND31 trillion.

The Danang International Airport is the country’s third largest, after Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports. It covers an area of 85 hectares and has a designed capacity of 10 million passengers per year. Of this, international terminal T2 can serve four million passengers per year, while domestic terminal T2 can handle six million.

In 2019, the Danang airport was reported to be overwhelmed, as up to 15.5 million passengers traveled through the airport. The Transport Ministry had considered a plan to expand the airport to 85.5 hectares and increase its capacity to 25 million passengers by 2030.