Cam Ranh International Airport: 20 years of development

After 20 years of operating the first commercial flight, Cam Ranh airport has constantly been upgraded and growing, contributing to creating a driving force for the province's socio-economic development.

Important mark

On the morning of May 19, 2004, the 114th birthday anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, Khanh Hoa Province People's Committee and the General Aviation Administration of Vietnam (now the Vietnam Aviation Administration) officially put Cam Ranh airport into commercial operation. The first flight to Cam Ranh airport was made by A320 aircraft with 138 tourists. Putting Cam Ranh airport into operation has met the travel needs of tourists; opened up prospects for the socio-economic development of Khanh Hoa in particular and the South Central and Central Highlands regions in general.

Cam Ranh International Airport

Over 20 years, Cam Ranh International Airport has grown dramatically in quantity of passengers and quality of services. Infrastructure has constantly been renovated and newly built; the system of technical equipment and facilities has been invested modernly. Currently, Cam Ranh International Airport has 2 separate terminals serving domestic and international passengers; two 4E runways, new aircraft apron system with 33 parking positions to serve large aircrafts with code E.

Over 20 years of commercial operation, Cam Ranh International Airport has served about 300,000 flights with nearly 60 million passengers and about 145,000 tons of goods, ensuring security, safety and service quality.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Quan - Director of Cam Ranh International Airport said that from an airport with only one passenger terminal, one runway and operating during the day, up to now, Cam Ranh airport has continuously developed. The airport has been invested in 2 spacious and modern terminals, runway No. 2 has been completed to meet the needs of large aircraft such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777. During the past 20 years, with the attention and close direction of the leadership at all levels, Cam Ranh International Airport has continuously developed and innovated to meet the increasing needs of passengers and partners, domestic and international airlines.

Cam Ranh International Airport is in the top 5 excellent airports in marketing and developing Asian routes. Specifically, in end February, in Malaysia, the Routes Asia 2024 award honored 15 airports, 4 destinations and 5 export airlines. Cam Ranh International Airport was awarded in the category for 5 airports with a capacity to serve from 4 - 20 million passengers/year.

Keeping development

Despite achieved impressive growth, the leaders of Cam Ranh International Airport have set new goals and new challenges for the airport to reach further. Cam Ranh International Airport is not only a safe destination, but also a departure point for new journeys. On June 7, 2023, the Prime Minister officially approved the planning of the national airport and airport system for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, in which Cam Ranh International Airport is planned with airport scale at level 4E, expected design capacity is about 25 million passengers/year, estimated investment cost of more than 23,700 billion VND as planned. By 2050, the expected design capacity will be about 36 million passengers/year, with an estimated planned investment cost of nearly 13,000 billion VND. The Prime Minister's decision also clearly states that priority will be given to investing in new construction or expansion of important international airports that play a focal role, including Cam Ranh International Airport.

Terminals T1 and T2 viewed from above

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Director of the Department of Tourism affirmed that Cam Ranh International Airport has a particularly important position, being an ideal traffic gateway and a bridge to help investors and tourists come more conveniently to Khanh Hoa and the South Central provinces. This is also an international traffic gateway, serving the socio-economic development of the whole region. After 20 years of operating the first commercial flight, the airport has created very favorable conditions and a great driving force for the province's tourism industry to develop. In 2004, Khanh Hoa only welcomed more than 710,000 tourists, including about 190,000 international visitors; then in 2023, the whole province welcomed 7 million visitors, including about 2.1 million international visitors. These results are the clearest evidence for the continuous development of Khanh Hoa tourism as well as Cam Ranh airport.

Manh Hung
Translated by T.T