On February 18, the data from Tan Son Nhat International Airport showed that the airport is expected to operate 978 flights, serving over 153,800 passengers. This number is slightly lower than on February 17, when there were over 154,000 passengers, but it is still a record for Tan Son Nhat airport to date.
A leader of the Southern Airports Authority said that before COVID-19, the busiest day for Tan Son Nhat airport saw only over 152,000 passengers. In the past 2 days, the airport has set new records for passenger traffic, mainly due to the influx of people returning to Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces for work after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Tan Son Nhat airport domestic terminal area on February 18
One notable fact about the number of flights today is that there are 978 flights passing through Tan Son Nhat airport, including 105 ferry flights (empty flights, not carrying passengers to serve return trips). The number of empty flights has increased significantly in the past 3 days. If on February 16, there were only 80 empty flights, on February 17, it increased to 100, and today it reached 105.
A representative of an airline explained the empty flights (unidirectional flights) in the context of the Lunar New Year holiday, where the demand of passengers is high but usually only one-way. As the peak after the Lunar New Year, passengers mostly fly from the northern and central provinces to Ho Chi Minh City to return to work, while there are not many passengers flying in the opposite direction.
On February 18 at Tan Son Nhat airport, the total number of domestic arrivals reached over 70,500 – a record high for the Lunar New Year holiday, but the number of domestic departures was only over 31,200.
“Half of the planes are empty. Many passengers complain about high airfare prices during the Lunar New Year, but in reality, there are a lot of empty flights, so the airlines have to balance the actual costs,” explained the airline representative.
Despite the record number of passengers, Tan Son Nhat International Airport stated that the transportation situation in the airport areas is still smooth, ensuring security and safety.
