Under the master urban plan for Da Nang’s progress by 2030, with a vision towards 2045, a heed is paid to expanding the city’s International Airport and developing its seaports. Over recent years, the airport has become an economic development stimulator for the city, bringing a growing number of tourists and investors to the city. Given its great potential, the airport is continuing to grasp new development opportunities.

The Da Nang International Airport needs to be expanded for further growth

The airport was built by the French colonial government in the 1940s as a civilian airport. During the Viet Nam War (1959–1975), the facility was known as Da Nang Air Base, and was a major United States military base.

After 1975, the airport played as a military airport of the Viet Nam People's Army ensuring national defence and security.

In the process of country’s development, the airport was opened for civil operation for the socio-economic development objectives of Da Nang, and the central and Central Highlands regions at large.

The airport now has two 10,000-foot (3,048 m) paved, parallel runways (17–35 orientation) capable of handling large, modern aircraft such as Boeing 747s, 767s and Airbus 320s.

The airport receives over 150 domestic and international flights with the daily capacity of 15,000 air passengers. In recent years, the average annual growth rate of 15%.

A 20,000m² terminal, costing 84 million US$ with a capacity of 4 million passengers per year, opened to receive its first domestic flight in December 2011. A new international terminal, covering 48,000m², with a total investment sum of 154 million US$ and a designed capacity of 6 millions passenger per year was put into use in May 2017.

Passengers completing boarding procedures at the Da Nang International Airport

The Da Nang administration has already submitted a document to the Ministry of Transport requesting it to approve the airport’s planning outline built by Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, and simultaneously grant capital to build the third terminal for the airport.

According to the plan, the airport will welcome 13 million passengers and handle 50,000 tonnes of cargo by 2020, and these figures increased by 28 million and 200,000 tonnes respectively by 2030.

Besides, with the rapid growth of the airport, passenger and cargo figures are expected to increase by 10 - 20% on average per annum, leading to the overloading of both existing terminals. Given these facts, the

city proposed building the third terminal with the annual capacity of 10-15 million passengers, while simultaneously upgrading existing terminals.

During April working trip to Da Nang, Mr. Kris Pauwels, the Director of Airport Strategy & Studies at NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants, highly appreciated the idea of developingthe ‘airport-led urban area’ model in the city.

He affirmed, Da Nang boasts great potential to develop this model, in tandem with fostering the growth of logistics industry, IT, and education, all of which are very important for the development of an ‘airport-led urban area’ and the city’s economic progress.

By 2030, focus will be on upgrading such facilities at the airport as taxiways, aprons, and passenger terminals, ensuring ground support equipment maintenance, flight management, fuel supplies, and targeting for the Category II (CAT II) and Category III (CAT III) Instrument Landing System (ILS) operations, and constructing other traffic infrastructure works. The aim is to meet a growing air transport demand, thereby contributing to attracting even more domestic and foreign investment to the city.