Security tightened at HCM City airport for month-end holidays

An airline employee helps a passenger check in at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City. — VNA/VnExpress News Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — Authorities in HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport are strengthening deployment of personnel during the upcoming holidays to ensure smooth movement of people and vehicles.

The National Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labour Day (May 1) holidays fall on a Saturday and Sunday and so the next two days are national holidays.

The long weekend means people will travel in huge numbers and airports are likely to be congested.

Đặng Ngọc Cương, director of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, said six domestic airlines and 39 international ones operate routinely at the airport.

Some 10,000 international visitors and more than 58,000 local passengers pass through it daily.

More than 9,000 contracted cars and traditional and technology-based taxis serve them every day.

The authorities recommend that passengers book a car in advance or travel by public buses.

It plans to open more D1 and D2 lanes for technology-based vehicles and more exits from the terminals.

To ensure the safety of passengers and staff, the airport authorities have asked all airlines, especially domestic, to provide accurate flight schedules and passenger volumes during peak days to have enough security personnel on duty.

There will be regular patrols to promptly clear congestion both inside the airport and on roads outside.

The airport’s two runways have been reopened after extensive upgrades, enabling an increase in the frequency of flights from 32-33 an hour to 40-44.

Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, VASCO, and Bamboo Airways have all increased the frequency of flights on key routes during the holidays.

They also have late-night flights to meet the skyrocketing demand. — VnExpress News