The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted to the Ministry of Transport a report on the adjustment of the planning scheme for the already overloaded Noi Bai International Airport which aims to double its capacity to welcome 63 million passengers a year by 2030.

A corner of the Noi Bai International Airport

According to the plan, the airport is projected to serve both civil and military purposes and capable of handling large long-haul aircraft such as B777-X, B747-8, B777-300ER and A380.

By 2030, the airport will have an estimated capacity of 63 million passengers and two million tonnes of cargo per year. To this end, the CAAV has proposed building a third runway in the south of the airport. The airport's existing terminal T2 will be expanded so that the combined capacity of terminals T1 and T2 will reach 30-40 million passengers per year, and a new terminal T3 with a capacity of 30 million passengers per year will be built to the south.

By 2050, the CAAV estimates the airport to serve 100 million passengers and handle 5 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The airport's planning scheme will therefore be adjusted with the addition of a fourth runway to the south as well as terminal T4 with an annual capacity of 25 million passengers at the site of the current terminal T1 and a new terminal T5 with a capacity of 25 million passengers when the demand rises.

The airport's land use planning meanwhile will follow the approved master plan for Hanoi, which allocates about 2,230 hectares to the airport to ensure enough land for national defence purposes.

The number of passengers and cargo passing through the Noi Bai Airport has been increasing by an average of 10% per year, with the airport receiving nearly 26 million passengers in 2018 and about 29 million passengers in 2019.

However, the airport is only designed to handle 25 million passengers per year, with the domestic terminal T1 having a capacity of 15 million and the international terminal T2 is servicing the remaining 10 million passengers per year.