Vietnam has opened Long Thanh International Airport, and it has already received its first commercial flight on 19th December. The opening is being spread over three phases over the next ten years, with the first phase now complete. Another source also notes the airport is scheduled to begin full commercial operations in June 2026, after first technical and ceremonial flights in December 2025. For shippers and forwarders, this matters because it reframes air freight as infrastructure, not an exception, and it sets expectations for new routing options around Ho Chi Minh City and the broader southern economy.
The airport’s opening is being positioned as a logistics play, not just an aviation one. The Airport Corporation of Vietnam has said it is looking to develop Long Thanh as an air logistics hub for the whole of South East Asia, and it is considering building a free-trade zone attached to the airport. Long Thanh is also described as Vietnam’s largest aviation infrastructure project, designed to function as a regional aviation and logistics hub with scale and connectivity aimed at supporting the next phase of trade growth. This framing helps explain why upgrades to airport infrastructure are cited as a major trend impacting Vietnam’s air freight market growth.
What Changes for Freight Flows and Supply Chains
Capacity and network effects are central to the long thanh airport logistics impact for southern Vietnam. In its first phase, Long Thanh is expected to handle up to 25 million passengers annually. The location also links air and sea more directly: one source says it will complement the growing cluster of container shipping facilities in Saigon and Cai Mep-Thi Vai, which is described as crucial to support Vietnam’s growing trade-oriented manufacturing sectors. In parallel, a broader infrastructure push is also cited in the logistics market outlook, including Long Thanh and expansions at major ports such as Hai Phong and Cai Mep-Thi Vai.
Trade trends add urgency to the air freight build-out. In trade with the USA, Vietnam exported USD 127.5 billion worth of goods, a year-on-year surge of 25.1%, according to the air freight market source. The same source says Vietnam’s export and import of services surged by 26.1% and 88.0% respectively, and it expects this to drive the volume of air freight between the two nations over the forecast period. In logistics more broadly, Vietnam’s market reached USD 80.65 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.40% to USD 149.98 billion by 2034, creating a bigger base of demand for time-sensitive shipping and freight forwarding services.
There are constraints, and they shape near-term operating choices. Long Thanh sits 40 km east of Ho Chi Minh City, while Tan Son Nhat is 7 km from District 1. Until planned urban rail opens (timeline unconfirmed), one source warns travelers may add 25–40 minutes of highway transfer time compared to the old arrival, and to budget an extra hour for connections until ground infrastructure catches up. For cargo, the same geography can translate into new drayage planning and tighter cut-off management. Still, the direction is clear: government agencies report phase one construction was expected to be over by 2026, and the airport’s phased opening aligns with a national push to modernize logistics networks and support rising trade activity.
When did Long Thanh International Airport receive its first commercial flight?
When is Long Thanh scheduled to begin full commercial operations?
What is the long thanh airport logistics impact expected to be for regional logistics?
What capacity is cited for Long Thanh in its first phase?
What trade figures are cited as drivers for Vietnam’s air freight demand?
