Passengers were packed together, sitting or lying on the floor due to a seating shortage and flight delays on Friday at the domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The terminal has become heavily overcrowded as the travel rush for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet) festival has begun.

With only several days to Tet, which falls on January 29, passenger numbers have surged as people rush to catch their flights to get back to their hometowns.

They waited on Friday in long queues at Tan Son Nhat, inching forward to complete check-in and boarding procedures.

The terminal was filled to capacity, with some families stuck for dozens of minutes trying to navigate the slow-moving queues leading to the check-in counters.

As of 8:00 pm, the crowd in the terminal remained dense, with lines of passengers waiting to check in.

Statistics show that over 1,000 flights were operated on Friday, serving more than 150,000 passengers – a record-breaking number since the start of this year’s Tet holiday travel rush.

Frequent flight delays caused significant stress among passengers and exacerbated the overcrowding. Weather-related issues disrupted some flights, leading to a chain of delays.

Other delays were attributed to operational errors by airlines. For instance, a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang was originally scheduled to depart at 10:45 am but was announced to be delayed until 2:45 pm.

One passenger on this flight, Thuy, shared her frustration. Despite constantly monitoring the departure screen, no boarding announcements were made at the rescheduled time.

It was not until 3:00 pm that Thuy and hundreds of other passengers were taken to the aircraft, only to be driven back to the terminal.

Airline staff explained that the flight crew had exceeded their allowable working hours, requiring a replacement team. Passengers had to wait even longer, and the flight finally departed at 6:20 pm.

“I booked a morning flight, but I didn’t arrive until the evening. Traveling during Tet is so stressful. There weren’t even enough seats for passengers at the airport,” Thuy lamented.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters observed the severe overcrowding at the domestic terminal, where passengers were forced to rest on the floor due to insufficient seating. As passenger space shrank, airport businesses continued to expand, with shops charging exorbitant prices.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre on Friday evening, an airline representative confirmed that adverse weather conditions in northern Vietnam had partially disrupted flight operations, causing a domino effect on schedules and resulting in delays.

The official also predicted that the situation would worsen in the following two days as passenger numbers and flight frequencies have been predicted to increase.

To alleviate congestion, the airport authority has instructed airlines and ground service providers, such as Pacific Airlines and VIAGS, to increase staffing at baggage claim areas and deploy personnel to promptly address any issues that may arise.

Airlines urged passengers to plan their travel carefully, particularly by arriving at the airport well in advance to avoid complications.

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