You don’t have any ideas of how to travel to and in Vietnam, let this piece of article blow away your concerns. The aim of this writing is provide readers with some useful information of airports in Vietnam and which airlines fly to the S-shaped country. Since then, you can find out the best way to Vietnam wherever you are.

Image Credit: Dung Nguyen

OVERVIEW OF AIRPORTS IN VIETNAM

The airport network of Vietnam covers across the country ranging from the North to the South with 21 airports being operated for commercial purposes in total (11 international and 10 domestic airports).

Map of airports in Vietnam

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS:  

Although Vietnam has 11 international airports, just only three main hubs such as Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Noi Bai International Airport and Da Nang International Airport (in the order of the connectivity) are actively run and usually welcomes the mid to long-haul flights. Besides, Cat Bi International Airport in Hai Phong, Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa, and Phu Quoc International Airport in Phu Quoc Island are connected directly to some major cities in Asia and some cities in Europe and Russia by seasonal flights.

Tan Son Nhat & Noi Bai International Airport: 

Two of these airports are all the most important traffic hubs of Vietnam (one’s in the North and another’s in South), which is well-linked to:

• 5 metropolises in EUROPE (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow by Vietnam Airlines; Paris by Air France; Moscow by Aeroflot and Zurich by Edelweiss Air);
• 4 cities in MIDDLE EAST (Istanbul by Turkish Airlines, Dubai by Emirates, Abu Dhabi by Etihad Airways and Doha by Qatar Airways);
• 3 cities in AUSTRALIA (Sydney and Melbourne by Vietnam Airlines and Auckland by Air New Zealand – the seasonal flight);
• Almost big cities and tourist destinations in Asia Pacific region following:

The area of NORTHEAST ASIA: 

• Japan: Tokyo Haneda and Narita, Nagoya, Osaka Kansai and Fukuoka. These flight routes are quite busy and run by both full-service airlines and low-cost carriers like Vietnam Airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA: some codeshare flights with Vietnam Airlines), Japan Airlines; Jetstar Pacific Airlines and Vietjet Air.
• Korea: Seoul, Busan. The haul that connects between Vietnam and Korea is supposed to be the most competitive one with the participation of Vietnam Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, Vietjet Air, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet and T’way.
• China including Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau:
  • China Mainland: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Kunming. They are run by Vietnam Airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines & China Eastern Airlines.
  • Hong Kong by Vietnam Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Vietjet Air & Jetstar Pacific Airlines.
  • Taiwan: Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan. Vietjet Air has the flight connecting to all the above destinations whereas some full-service airlines like Vietnam Airlines, Eva Air & China Airlines just focus on Taipei and Kaohsiung.
  • Macau: only served by Air Macau.

The area of SOUTHEAST ASIA:

• Laos: Vientiane, Luang Prabang & Pakse with the existence of Vietnam Airlines and Lao Airlines. Note that there are a few non-stop flights from Ho Chi Minh City to any cities of Laos other than Pakse. Normally, it is required to transit in 1 stop like Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Pakse.
• Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville. In addition to Vietnam Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air, the flight linking Vietnam and Cambodia has the oryx firm Qatar Airways (they have the fifth-freedom to fly Ho Chi Minh – Phnom Penh before heading to Doha) and two LCCs Vietjet Air and Lanmei Airlines (the first one exploiting the non-stop flight between Hanoi & Phnom Penh).
• Myanmar: only the old capital city Yangon by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and the giant from Middle East – Emirates (they have the fifth-freedom to Hanoi – Yangon before heading to Dubai).
• Thailand: Bangkok Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Phuket with a number of traditional airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways, Qatar Airways (fifth freedom on the route Hanoi – Bangkok), Turkish Airlines (fifth freedom on the route Ho Chi Minh City – Bangkok), Bangkok Airways (Hanoi – Chiang Mai) and a load of budget like Vietjet Air (monopoly on the route Ho Chi Minh City – Phuket), Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Air Asia.  
• Malaysia: KLIA 1 or 2, Penang, Johor Bahru by Vietnam Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Vietjet Air and Air Asia Berhad
• Singapore by Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Silk Air & Scoot (two subsidiaries of Singapore Airlines), Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and Jetstar Asia.
• The Philippines: only Manila by Philippines Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Philippines Air Asia (almost red-eye flights).
• Brunei and Indonesia: Bandar Seri Begawan and Jakarta respectively by Royal Brunei Airlines, Vietnam Airlines & Vietjet Air (just only Ho Chi Minh City).

Da Nang International Airport:

The largest airport in Central of Vietnam is the gateway to start the expedition to explore the heritages in this region. This hub usually welcomes the short to mid-haul flights from the Asian region like Bangkok (Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways); Siem Reap (Cambodia Angkor Air), Singapore (Jetstar Asia, Silk Air), Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia Berhad), Hong Kong (Cathay Dragon – the regional airlines of Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express), Macau (Air Macau), Taipei (Jetstar Pacific Airlines), Seoul (the same situation as Tan Son Nhat & Noi Bai), Tokyo Narita (Vietnam Airlines), Osaka (Jetstar Pacific Airlines), Guangzhou (Hainan Airlines, Vietnam Airlines), Hangzhou (Vietnam Airlines).

Cat Bi International Airports:

The airport near Noi Bai plays the roles as a small domestic airport. Some international flights come here mainly from Bangkok (Thai Vietjet Air), Seoul (Vietjet Air) and Guangzhou (chartered flight by Sichuan Airlines).

Cam Ranh & Phu Quoc International Airports: 

Being different from Cat Bi, either Nha Trang or Phu Quoc is the reputable coastal towns among Westerners. Hence, they are often connected to big cities worldwide by regular or chartered flights.

• Cam Ranh International Airport is far roughly 35km from the downtown of Nha Trang and tourists can get this land from Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia Berhad), Hong Kong (Hong Kong Express), Seoul (Vietnam Airlines, Korean Air, Jeju Air and Vietjet Air), a bunch of chartered flights from Russia, a lot of big cities in China Mainland like Shanghai Pudong, Chengdu, Kunming, Xian, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, etc.
• Unlike Nha Trang filled up with Russian and Chinese tourists, Phu Quoc International Airport usually welcomes the chartered flights from Europe like UK, Italy or some Scandinavian countries (Thomson Airways, TUI Airways) and the regular flights from Seoul (Asiana Airlines), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok Airways), Guangzhou (China Southern Airlines), Kunming (China Eastern Airlines & Lucky Air), Shanghai Pudong (Vietnam Airlines) and Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia Berhad in November 2018)

DOMESTIC AIRPORTS:

It can be stated with certainty that the domestic flight network in Vietnam is relatively dense and most of the cities are well-connected to each other. Some tips for you when flying internal Vietnam below:

• Wanna embark on the expedition to conquer the world’s largest cave, the most economical way from Saigon is to take a flight to Dong Hoi Airport (60 US$ for one-way flight in average). In case you start your trip in Hanoi, let’s catch an overnight bus (transfer time around 10 hours).
• Desire to have a fabulous hideaway in Con Dao, you can fly from Can Tho after finishing the journey to explore Mekong Delta besides the flight from Ho Chi Minh City (the return ticket is about 160 US$). Flight is assumed to be the optimal choice compared to land transfer and then a speedboat from Soc Trang to Tran De Port in Con Dao (much cheaper but time-consuming).
• Wish to visit the last battlefield – Dien Bien Phu, you should combine it with other destinations in Northwest (the land is famous for the amazing terraced rice fields and unique culture of some ethnic minorities) to create a route. There’s no need to waste much money on the flight to Dien Bien Phu Airport.
• Aim to seek out the wonderful beach getaway for short holiday and avoid the familiar spots, just fly to Phu Cat Airport in Quy Nhon or Dong Tac Airport in Phu Yen. Two of these provinces aren’t on the world traveler’s radar and have the high-end resorts like AVANI, which is completely appropriate for retreat in a few days.
• To the very short-haul flights like Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu; Ho Chi Minh/ Can Tho – Con Dao; Can Tho/ Rach Gia – Phu Quoc; Ho Chi Minh – Rach Gia, you will be transferred on the angle aircraft ATR 72 by VASCO (a subsidiary of Vietnam Airlines).

P/S: Vietnam Airlines will launch the direct (not non-stop) flight connecting Vietnam and the United States soon by Airbus A350-900 or Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (the first destination can be Los Angeles or San Francisco).

If you have any questions so far, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.