Noi Bai International Airport upgrades its runways

Thứ Tư, 15/07/2020, 18:18

PSNews - With the aim of welcoming the increasing number of passengers, last June, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam announce it had closed a runway in Noi Bai International Airport for repair. Accordingly, the airport is now operating only one runway.

As planned, the repairs of runways 11L/29R and 11R/29L will last until the Lunar New Year festival, known as the traditional Tet holiday in Vietnam, since the contractors have to work both night and day to keep the new runway in use during the peak period.

The total funding for the work will be from the State budget at VND2.03 trillion.

Three new rapid-exit taxiways will be built, while the existing taxiways will undergo upgrades. Indication lights, a drainage system and flight management facilities will be developed at Noi Bai. 

To Tu Ha, deputy director of Noi Bai airport, said the flight frequency would drop as planes will take off and land on the same runway during the upgrade. Many flights scheduled for peak hours would be shifted to less busy hours, with the total number of daily flights at the Hanoi-based airport remaining unchanged.

The transport ministry said that starting work on the two projects in early July is essential since the flight frequency at the two airports is low as there are almost no international flights due to COVID-19. When the pandemic is over, the demand for international travels will surge, making the closure of the runways more difficult. 
Since 2017, the two airports have been suffering from overloading and receiving many more modern aircraft with a huge capacity. As a result, their runways and taxiways have deteriorated.
By Linh Bui