Experts warn that Long Thanh airport could face a similar fate as the New Eastern Bus Station in HCMC, underutilized due to poor connectivity and access for passengers.
The previous Eastern Bus Station was in the erstwhile Binh Thanh District, now Binh Thanh Ward, since 1981.
It was always crowded, especially on weekends and holidays, as it was from here that people traveled from the city to the central and northern regions.
But its location in a prime area of the city often meant severe congestion, along National Highway 13, Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Nguyen Xi, and Dinh Bo Linh streets.
To reduce traffic jams and pollution in this area, in 2016 the city decided to build a new bus station on the outskirts. It was constructed on a 16-hectare site in former District 9, now Long Binh Ward, at a cost of VND4 trillion (US$151.8 million), and a capacity of more than seven million passengers annually, making it the country's largest.
| Passengers at the new New Eastern Bus Station, January 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh |
Its first phase was completed and opened in October 2020.
It was expected to modernize passenger transport in HCMC, but the reality has been different, with the place often being empty.
The main reason is its distance from the city center – it is around 20 km from the downtown area -- and inconvenient transportation links.
It is operating at less than 10% of capacity, getting only around 6,400 passengers a day though most long-distance buses from HCMC to the central and northern regions operate from here.
Due to the lack of business, many bus companies have moved to other stations.
A spokesperson for the bus station said after the Ben Thanh–Suoi Tien metro started commercial operations late last year passenger numbers have only increased slightly.
Besides the connectivity problems, the buses here also have to contend with unlicensed competitors who illegally stop and pick up passengers on streets.
Authorities sought to not only create a transportation hub but also integrate it with the national transport network and urban development strategy.
But the plans have stalled due to delays in major connectivity projects such as the widening of Hanoi Highway and National Highway 1.
Overpasses and tunnels connecting directly with the station are also behind schedule.
Hoang Huu Nam Street and many surrounding roads have not yet been upgraded.
The woes of the new bus station have been cited by many experts as the possible fate of Long Thanh Airport, also set to be Vietnam's largest.
Lack of convenient access could reduce demand and weaken its competitiveness, they warn.
The airport is being built in Dong Nai Province, 40 km from HCMC, on more than 5,000 hectares at a cost of nearly VND336.630 trillion ($12.8 billion).
Once completed, it will have a capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo annually.
Phase one is likely to be finished in 2026 with a capacity of 25 million passengers.
| Long Thanh airport's terminal under construction in Dong Nai Province, August 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan |
Le Trung Tinh, chairman of the HCMC Passenger Transport Association, said though the airport is about to open, the roads around it are already overloaded, and new ones are under construction or in the pre-construction stage.
Currently, travel between HCMC and the airport is mainly by the Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway and National Highways 1 and 51, all of which are congested. Other key routes such as Ring Road 3 and the Ben Luc–Long Thanh Expressway, are under construction.
Widening of the Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway has just started and is not expected to be completed until next year, with synchronization with the airport’s opening still uncertain.
The Vietnam Airports Corporation and consultants have outlined two alternative scenarios for distributing flights between Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC and Long Thanh.
Under the first scenario, Long Thanh will handle 100% of international routes, an estimated 19 million passengers annually, plus about 1.5 million domestic travelers making connections, while Tan Son Nhat will serve 95% of domestic passengers.
Tan Son Nhat served 39.8 million passengers in 2024, down 2.1% compared to the previous year. However, the number of international passengers rose by 14% year-on-year, reaching over 16 million.
The second will see the transfer of only long-haul international flights and handling around 15.3 million passengers with short-haul routes remaining at Tan Son Nhat.
Tinh said transferring all international flights immediately is "unreasonable" since this would overload the connecting infrastructure and "shock" passengers, especially given the airport’s distance from HCMC and poor connectivity.
"The 40 km distance from downtown HCMC to Long Thanh poses a high risk of traffic congestion and flight delays. This goes against the principle of prioritizing passenger convenience."
| A traffic jam on HCMC - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway in 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh |
Ngo Viet Nam Son, an architect with over 30 years of experience in urban planning, also said that the relocation of international flights to Long Thanh should be considered only when the transport network is fully completed.
He pointed out that passengers would transfer between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat, requiring travel of 40 km and making proper connectivity even more imperative.
He said at first cargo, logistics, warehousing, and aircraft maintenance operations should be moved to Long Thanh to make use of available land while reducing the load on Tan Son Nhat. This would enable Tan Son Nhat to improve, especially connecting terminals T1 and T2 with T3.
Phan Le Binh, head of the OCG Japan Consulting Office, which provides transport, urban and environmental consulting, said in many countries two airports operate near each other, but this complicates things and so they have their own policies to ensure passengers' convenience and operational efficiency.
For example, in South Korea, Gimpo International Airport is located about 15-20 km from Incheon International Airport, with the exact distance varying depending on the route taken. The journey time can range from approximately 20 minutes by taxi to over an hour by bus, while the AREX train can take around 40 minutes of net riding time.
"Without convenience, long-term efficiency decreases, affecting not only the airport but also HCMC’s competitive position compared to other major cities in the region," he said.
While waiting for major connecting roads to be completed, there could be dedicated bus lanes on the Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway, he added.
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