Proposal to temporarily close Vinh airport for 4 months for renovation
The renovation and upgrading of Vinh airport will help ensure flight safety and improve the capacity to operate new, modern aircraft such as Airbus A320/A321, meeting people's travel needs.
According to information from the leaders of Vinh International Airport, Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) has sent a document requesting the Ministry of Transport to consider and approve the renovation, repair plan and prepare for investment in the project to renovate and repair the runway and taxiway of Vinh International Airport.
According to ACV, from 1993 to 2000, Vinh airport was invested in repair and put into operation. From 2001 to 2003, Vinh airport was invested in construction, extended, expanded runway, receiving Airbus A320, A321 aircraft with reduced load or equivalent. Meanwhile, aviation output at Vinh airport in recent years has grown rapidly and sustainably, increasing by an average of 15% in the period 2015-2019, in 2022 alone, passenger output reached more than 2.6 million.
According to the inspection and assessment report of the current status of ADCC Aviation Construction Design and Consulting One Member Co., Ltd., the runway and taxiway of Vinh airport have degraded and exceeded their design life.
The asphalt concrete road surface has shown typical damage such as deformation of the asphalt concrete surface, wheel tracks; longitudinal cracks, spider cracks; asphalt concrete aggregates peeling off... along the rolling tracks of the front and rear landing gear of the aircraft, affecting operational safety.
Most recently, at 9:33 a.m. on July 3, 2023, flight VN1261 arrived at the takeoff position at the 17th runway of Vinh airport, the captain discovered that the asphalt concrete had been peeled off at the 17th runway. Vinh Airport determined that the asphalt concrete had been peeled off at the 17th runway with an area of about 41.6 square meters.2(5.2m wide, 8m long).
The incident was assessed by ACV as a level C incident (safety threat leading to temporary closure of the airport) causing 21 flights to be canceled. Vinh Airport closed the runway for 24 hours for repairs. At 7:00 a.m. on July 4, 2023, Vinh Airport resumed operations after the runway was repaired. However, this also significantly affected the schedules of passengers, forcing many people to travel by other means.
To ensure safe, sustainable, long-term operation, and improve the operational capacity of Vinh International Airport to be able to operate new modern aircraft such as fully loaded Airbus A320/A321, ACV proposes to renovate and repair the existing runway and taxiway system; build brake strips at both ends of the runway, measuring 100x60m; renovate and repair the synchronous head protection strip and side protection strip...
The proposed runway uses a steel mesh cement concrete pavement structure solution to completely overcome damage and degradation, prolong its lifespan and limit adverse weather conditions.
ACV has proposed a total investment of VND745 billion for the project to renovate and repair the runway and taxiway of Vinh International Airport, using the capital for maintaining aviation infrastructure invested and managed by the State. At the same time, it proposed to close the airport for construction after the peak of the Lunar New Year in 2025 and finish construction before the peak of the Summer in 2025.
The upgrading and renovation of Vinh airport is necessary and has been proposed directly by the Vietnam Airports Corporation to the Ministry of Transport. If approved, the unit will have a plan to notify and promote this to passengers so that people can proactively arrange their schedules. The renovation time, if it takes place from after the Lunar New Year 2025 to before the peak of Summer 2025, is reasonable because this is the low season, it will have little impact on people's travel.
Mr. Nghiem Manh Tuan - Director of Vinh International Airport
