More than just an aviation gateway to the northeastern region, Van Don International Airport is gradually affirming its role as a driver of tourism and service-sector growth in Quang Ninh.
Following the launch of the direct Ho Chi Minh City–Van Don route in June 2026, Sun PhuQuoc Airways has increased the frequency to one flight a day to meet passenger demand. This is not only a positive sign for air transport, but also opens up significant opportunities for Quang Ninh to tap more effectively into southern Vietnam, one of the country’s largest tourism source markets in terms of both visitor volume and spending.
From Van Don International Airport, visitors can quickly reach a range of well-known destinations, including Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, Yen Tu, Co To and Quan Lan, along with a growing network of resorts, entertainment facilities and a rapidly growing night-time economy. In addition to significantly reducing geographical distances, air routes also help bring Quang Ninh’s diverse tourism ecosystem closer to visitors across the country.
According to Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of Van Don International Airport, the airport will continue coordinating with airlines to expand its route network. Additional air routes connecting Van Don with Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa province and Phu Quoc in An Giang province are planned, alongside charter flights to China, South Korea and Russia. These are all key source markets in Quang Ninh’s tourism development strategy for the new period.
The expansion of international air routes is expected to provide further momentum for the recovery and development of international source markets following a period of disruption. In particular, at a recent working session between the Quang Ninh Department of Industry and Trade and the Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce of China, the two sides agreed to continue studying the resumption of a direct air route between Van Don and Fujian, while promoting charter flights, cruise routes and interconnected tourism products. If implemented, this will become an important channel for connectivity, contributing to an increase in international tourist arrivals to Quang Ninh and promoting economic and trade exchanges between the two localities.
For the airport to become a genuine driver of development, the key lies not only in the number of routes but also in the ability to build an integrated aviation ecosystem. Van Don International Airport is attracting several large-scale investment projects in the aviation industry. A notable project is an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul complex valued at around USD 360 million, jointly invested by Sun Group, HAECO, Japan Airlines and Toyota Tsusho. Planned on an area of more than 20 hectares, the complex will be capable of simultaneously accommodation multiple wide-body and narrow-body aircraft in accordance with international standards and is scheduled to begin operations in 2028. In addition to creating nearly 1,000 high-quality jobs, the complex will gradually enable Van Don to participate more deeply in the regional aviation industry value chain.
This development orientation is fully aligned with the new master plan for Van Don International Airport. Under the adjusted master plan approved by the Ministry of Construction, the airport is oriented to reach an annual capacity of around 20 million passengers and 200,000 tonnes of cargo by 2050, four times the capacity set out in the previous plan. More importantly, the airport is no longer positioned solely as a tourism gateway, but will be developed into a multifunctional aviation hub integrating passenger and cargo transport, logistics and the aviation industry.
Hoang Quynh
