The construction site of Long Thanh International Airport. (Source: VNA)

In a recent blog post titled '100 million club: The rise of mega airports' on its website, OAG highlighted the growing influence of emerging airports across Asia.

Currently under construction, the airport in southern Dong Nai province is expected to be among several new entrants to the 100 million club in the next decade, which would reshape the global air travel industry.

Currently, there are only five airports worldwide that handle over 100 million passengers per year. These include Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth in the US, Dubai in the UAE, Tokyo Haneda in Japan and London Heathrow in the UK.

Long Thanh is being developed on a 5,000ha site with a total investment of 336 trillion VND (13 billion USD) to replace capacity from Ho Chi Minh City’s overburdened Tan Son Nhat Airport.

The airport will be built in three phases. The first phase is scheduled for completion by 2026. One runway, a passenger terminal and supporting facilities will be built during this phase, with a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year.

In the second phase, the capacity will be increased to 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo by 2035. In the third phase, the airport will reach its full designed capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo by 2050.

Other airports that could join the 100 million club include Singapore's Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and Incheon International Airport in Seoul.

OAG also said that Asian governments see these aviation hubs as catalysts for foreign and domestic investment, tourism and employment, adding that Asian airports will be well placed to serve the surge in demand for domestic and international air travel in Asia, driven by rapid economic growth, the rising middle class and urbanisation.