After a 6-month long closure to make way for repairs and improvements, Phu Bai International Airport again began accommodating flights from Viet Nam Airlines and VietJetAir on September 20. Located 15 kilometers from the city centre, Phu Bai Airport is the main gateway to Hue, UNESCO-protected former imperial capital of Vietnam. As a tourism hotspot, Hue authorities recognized the need for a more modern airport that can properly address the needs of the large number of visitors received by the city daily. The now upgraded airport sports a wider runway of 45 meters from the previous 40 meters width, which can safely to accommodate the landing of medium-size aircrafts such as the A321.

Its renovated terminal, apart from the new look, has now been expanded to 6,500sq.m to better hold the 1.5 million passengers they serve annually. During peak hours, the now upgraded terminal is capable of serving up to 800 passengers for three A321 aircrafts simultaneously.

To accommodate more taxis and private vehicles, a brand new car park and taxi lounge with 160 parking spaces has been built. Such upgrades were sourced from ACV’s budget and was reported to have totaled to VND700 billion (US$35 million). Tourism stimulus campaigns were launched along with the airport’s reopening which included reduced hotel room rates, extra services and attractions and free Nha Nhac performances. Its reopening ceremony was attended by no less than the Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who on the same day, also inaugurated the completion of another upgrade project involving the Hue bypass.

An effort from the Ministry of Transport to make traveling around Hue more convenient and less time-consuming, its completion translates to better and safer traffic conditions for the city. Before the renovations works were started, Hue had been receiving more than one million passengers per year, making Phu Bai the country’s fourth busiest airport. The temporary shutdown, however, did not reduce the number of tourists to the city. Additional plans are laid to further add improvements to the Phu Bai airport for it to handle 20 airplanes in peak hours and five million passengers a year by 2020.