VietNamNet Bridge – In mid December Cam Ranh airport near Nha Trang will become international.

Cam Ranh Airport

Cam Ranh airport is located in the north of Cam Ranh peninsular, some 30 kilometers from Nha Trang sea city. With the total area of over 750 hectares and boasting good infrastructure, Cam Ranh is now the second largest airport in Vietnam, second ony to Tan Son Nhat in HCM City.

The airport has witnessed many changes to date. It was first a military airport set up by the Americans and used as an aviation base during the war. Cam Ranh remained a special military zone for 30 years after the country’s liberalization in 1975.

Cam Ranh airport received the first civil flight from Hanoi on May 19, 2004.

In 2004-2007, the central region’s airports and Khanh Hoa province’s authorities agreed to join forces to upgrade Cam Ranh airport. The number of passengers has been increasing very rapidly, from 274,000 in 2004 to 500,000 in late 2007. The Ministry of Transport soon approved an overall plan to develop Cam Ranh into a domestic airport with international flights.

On August 16, 2007, prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved plan to invest 10,523 billion dong to upgrade Cam Ranh airport into an international airport.

Since June 2008, Cam Ranh airport has been officially serving night flights.

By the end of 2008, Cam Ranh airport had serviced 683,000 passengers, exceeding Phu Bai airport to become the fourth biggest airport in Vietnam in terms of the number of passengers served.

Under the airport development plan approved by the Government, more changes are afoot. By 2020, after extending to an area of 2,940 square metres, Cam Ranh airport will be able to receive some 5.5 million passengers and 100,000 tonnes of goods a year.

Leaders of the national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines believe that the development of Cam Ranh international airport will create a boom for the central region.

Foreign airlines ready to fly to Cam Ranh

Hoang Thanh, director of the Central Region’s Airports Authority, said foreign airlines are ready to fly to Cam Ranh. With the opening of the terminal on December 12, the Cam Ranh airport will be capable of receiving 1.5-2 million passengers a year.

In addition, big South Korean groups have signed agreements with Vietnam Airlines to bring passengers to Cam Ranh. Plus, Russian airlines are also looking at providing direct flights.

Vietnam Airlines believes that in 2010, the number of passengers to go through Cam Ranh airport will reach 1.5 million, while the figure will be four million by 2015.

VietNamNet/LD