Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Dinh La Thang has laid out several measures to keep the city’s major airport and nearby streets from becoming over-congested ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The city's Party chief convened a working session at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Sunday, addressing traffic jams and overcrowding at the facility prior to the coming Tet holiday, which falls on January 28.

The airport welcomed over 32 million passengers in 2016, Secretary Thang stated, adding that the number could reach 40 million in 2017.

Meanwhile, the airport’s design capacity is only 25 million people per annum, requiring prompt solutions to alleviate the immense pressure during this peak flying time of the year.    

Outdoor check-in procedure

The high-ranking official suggested that passengers be able to complete their check-in procedures outside of the airport.

Cabs should not be allowed to enter the airport, he continued, adding that a shuttle bus would carry passengers from the outdoor check-in area to their terminals inside the facility.

Family members of flyers should also be well managed to prevent overcrowding, the secretary said.

“If every passenger is accompanied by some 10 relatives and friends, no airport can handle such enormous pressure,” he remarked.

Reporting to the city’s leader, Dang Tuan Tu, director of Tan Son Nhat, confirmed that the number of delayed flights had been significantly reduced thanks to the new application of technology.

Putting a five-story parking lot into operation has also minimized gridlock at the airport’s premises, Tu continued.

Despite this, Thang reflected on his own flight to the south-central city of Cam Ranh last week, for which he had to wait for 11 other planes before taking off.

He said that flight control at Tan Son Nhat remained limited, recommending that foreign experts be hired and consulted for their experience.

Improving the airport is not just the task of the municipal transport department but of all people in the city, Thang concluded, saying that boosting the aerodrome would help spur local development.

24/7 monitoring

According to Tran Quang Lam, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transport, two working groups have been assigned with around-the-clock monitoring of traffic at the airport and Cat Lai Port.

Additional units will also be ready to deal with traffic jams at 27 other hotspots throughout the metropolis, Lam added.

The number of daily flights at Tan Son Nhat has increased by 50 compared to average days and is expected to continue rising as the Lunar New Year approaches.

The transport official urged regular commuters to avoid traveling on Truong Son Street, which leads to the airport, especially during these days to lower the risk of congestion.

Trucks will also be banned from the road at certain hours to curb the problem, Lam said.

More bus routes to airport

The transport department will continue to provide more bus routes to take passengers into and out of Tan Son Nhat, while the department is also considering opening a bus and taxi stop at the nearby Gia Dinh Park.

An exclusive bus lane on the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia- Nguyen Van Troi-Truong Son-Tan Son Nhat route is also a potential solution.

According to Major Nguyen Hoang Minh, vice-captain of the traffic police unit at the airport, the traffic situation in the area has been quite stable thanks to the around-the-clock control of officers.

Maj. Minh called on citizens to assist the effort by complying to traffic rules and avoiding confrontation after any accident, which can quickly block traffic flow.

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