Vinh International Airport in Nghe An Province, north central Vietnam will shut down until 10:50 am on Tuesday as a runway at the airport cracked.

Due to the cracked runway, flights scheduled to depart from or land at the airport on Monday were canceled.

Some flights had to make unscheduled landings at an airport in neighboring Thanh Hoa Province.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said it is working with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to solve the incident.

A wider view of cracks on the runway at Vinh International Airport in Nghe An Province. Photo: Tuoi Tre Contributor

At 11:45 am on Monday, hundreds of passengers completed ticket return procedures at check-in desks of airlines at the airport. They also asked for solutions to the delayed flights.

Tran Van Tuyen, a resident in Nghi Loc District, Nghe An Province, said his flight from Vinh International Airport to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City would have departed at 9:15 am on Monday

“After completing check-in procedures, I got on board but 30 minutes later, the flight’s captain announced that the runway was cracked and the plane would return to the terminal,” Tuyen said.

He and 160 other passengers later came back to the terminal to wait for further notice.

Le Van Quy, a 75-year-old resident in Anh Son District, Nghe An, and his wife also had their flight canceled.

“The flight was delayed to tomorrow, so we have to wait for a day,” Quy shared.

Le Van Quy (R), a 75-year-old resident in Anh Son District, Nghe An Province, receives his luggage after his flight is canceled.

Many passengers from Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces, Nghe An’s neighbors, also had their flights from Vinh International Airport on Monday rescheduled.

Pham Van Dung, residing in Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province, said he and 19 others booked a tour to Nha Trang, a tourism city in south central Khanh Hoa Province.

“We were aware of the runway incident when we reached the airport. The airline told us to book a flight to Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa or Hanoi to fly [to Nha Trang], while we had earlier booked hotel rooms,” Dung complained.

Hundreds of passengers have their flights canceled on July 3, 2023 due to the incident. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre

A leader of Vinh International Airport said cracks appeared in the center of the runway, resulting in the delay and cancelation of dozens of flights.

“There are 23 flights to and from Vinh International Airport today. However, only four flights were operated this morning.

“Contractors have rushed to the airport to repair the runway and will strive to fix the problem at the earliest time,” the airport leader added.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has required air carriers to report the number of flights and passengers from and to Vinh International Airport from July 3 to 10. 

The incident occurred during the peak summer travel season, thus making flight times at sixes and sevens, according to local airlines.

Other air routes will face a domino effect. As a result, many flights will face delays, airlines voiced their concerns.

Passengers at check-in desks of an airline.

Vinh International Airport has a 2,400-meter-long and 45-meter-wide runway and a 38,400-square-meter apron with seven aircraft parking spots.

The ACV put the passenger terminal, which costs nearly VND1.2 trillion (US$50.8 million), at the airport into operation in January 2015.

Despite an international airport, the airport serves no international air route. Vietnamese air carriers, including Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and Pacific Airlines, are operating flights to and from the airport.

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