The Transportation Department of Ho Chi Minh City has suggested setting up bus stops within the new domestic terminal T3 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and plans to create 20 bus routes for passenger convenience.
In a recent submission to the Ministry of Construction, ACV, and Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the department stated that with the introduction of Terminal T3 in May, which will become functional then, the overall passenger capacity at the airport is set to increase to 50 million annually.
The department has suggested that the airport allocate particular areas in front of the new terminal for buses picking up and dropping off passengers. Additionally, they have sought authorization from the Ministry of Construction to run approximately 20 bus routes that will transport passengers directly to Terminal T3.
Based on the present timetable, Terminal T3 will handle domestic flights for Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air. Meanwhile, other domestic airlines such as Vasco, Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, and Pacific Airlines will keep using Terminal T1.
In conjunction with the urban bus network expansion, Tan Son Nhat Airport is introducing a shuttle service designed to move travelers between the current terminals and the recently finished T3 facility.
Terminal T3 will be capable of handling up to 20 million passengers each year, which would make it the biggest domestic terminal in Vietnam. Financed by ACV, this approximately VND11 trillion (USD$445 million) initiative commenced construction towards the end of 2022, with significant work on the main passenger area beginning in August 2023.
The terminal will be opened two months earlier than originally planned.
To enhance accessibility to Terminal T3, a 4-kilometer-long Tran Quoc Hoan–Cong Hoa link road will be opened as well. The purpose of this new route is to strengthen connections among vital urban infrastructures and alleviate traffic jams in the densely populated Tan Son Nhat region—one of HCMC’s most intricate traffic bottlenecks.