“Demand for Immediate Action: Leaks at the Newly Inaugurated Terminal 3”

The State Appraisal Council for Construction Quality (under the Ministry of Construction), the standing agency of the State Council for Inspection of Construction Acceptance, has requested that the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) completely resolve the issue of rainwater leakage at the T3 Terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The rainwater leakage from the glass roof to the floor in the departure lounge area on the 3rd floor of the terminal occurred soon after the facility was put into use. The Council has instructed an on-site inspection and requested ACV to review any issues that arose during the operational phase. They have also urged for timely solutions to ensure the smooth operation and exploitation of the infrastructure.

The Council emphasized the need for ACV to pay special attention to permanently addressing the rainwater leakage from the glass roof and to develop a safe operation plan for the rainy season.

In addition, the investor must urgently complete the remaining work as committed and promptly report the results, as well as rectify any problems that arise during operation and exploitation to the standing agency of the State Council for Inspection of Construction Acceptance.

Earlier, on May 7, rainwater leakage from the glass roof to the floor in the departure lounge area on the 3rd floor of the T3 Terminal was observed during a peak hour for passengers. According to a video clip shared by a passenger on social media, airport cleaning staff were immediately mobilized to mop and sweep the water.

With an investment of VND 11,000 billion, the Tan Son Nhat T3 Terminal was constructed over 20 months, starting from August 2022. Despite the challenges of working through holidays and the rainy season, the project was completed two months ahead of schedule and inaugurated on April 19, helping to reduce the load on Terminal T1 and increasing the total capacity of Tan Son Nhat Airport to 50 million passengers per year.

As the largest domestic terminal in Vietnam, it is designed to serve 20 million passengers annually, with a peak capacity of 7,000 passengers per hour. The terminal consists of one basement and four floors, covering a total area of 112,500 square meters. Its design features separate arrival and departure levels to optimize passenger flow. The operational system includes 90 traditional check-in counters, 20 self-service baggage drop-off machines, 42 check-in kiosks, and 27 boarding gates (13 aerobridges and 14 bus gates).

The terminal also boasts 6 outbound baggage handling islands, 10 inbound baggage reclaim islands, 25 security checkpoints (including 8 automatic checkpoints), and a dedicated area for VIP, business, and priority passengers.

One of the standout features of the T3 Terminal is the self-service options for passengers, including self-check-in kiosks, self-bag-drop, and automatic e-gates. Additionally, the terminal utilizes e-identification cards with chips and facial recognition technology during the check-in process.