Vinh Airport Reopening Restores North Central Vietnam Links

Published on Dec 2, 2025, 3:46 pm CST

8 min read

Key points

Vinh International Airport in Nghe An reopens on December 19, 2025 after nearly six months of runway, taxiway, and terminal upgrades
ACV is investing nearly VND1 trillion to repair runways and taxiways, expand the apron to nine Code C stands, and upgrade terminal T1 capacity to around 3 to 3.5 million passengers a year by 2030
Vietnam Airlines plans seven daily round trips linking Vinh with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from December 19, while Vietjet intends five to six daily Ho Chi Minh City flights
During the closure since July 1, travelers had to route via Thanh Hoa's Tho Xuan and Dong Hoi or major hubs like Hanoi, adding hours of overland travel
The reopening comes just ahead of Tet 2026, when demand and fares on Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh routes are already high and many lower fare seats are sold out
Travelers must weigh ticket change costs and availability against shorter transfers when deciding whether to keep existing itineraries via alternate airports or switch back to Vinh

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: The biggest changes affect travelers to Nghe An and Ha Tinh who can now fly directly into Vinh instead of connecting through Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Hanoi, or Da Nang
Best Times To Fly: Early and midweek departures in late December and early January will be less pressured than peak Tet dates in February when Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh demand and fares surge
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Same day connections into reopened Vinh should be more reliable than mixed air and long road transfers, but tight domestic connections through Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City still need generous buffers
What Travelers Should Do Now: Compare total door to door time and change fees for current tickets via alternate airports against new nonstop options into Vinh, then rebook if the savings in time around Tet justify the cost

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Vinh airport reopening December 2025 will restore a direct air gateway to Vietnam's north central provinces, because Vinh International Airport (VII) in Nghe An is due to resume flights on December 19 after almost six months of closure for runway, taxiway, and terminal upgrades. Travelers headed for Nghe An and neighboring Ha Tinh who have been detouring through Thanh Hoa's Tho Xuan or Dong Hoi, or even major hubs like Hanoi, will again be able to fly closer to their final destinations just as Tet traffic ramps up. Anyone holding winter or Lunar New Year itineraries into the region now needs to reassess routings, since new nonstops into Vinh can cut several hours of overland time but will be heavily booked and priced accordingly.

The Vinh airport reopening December 2025 means the upgraded Nghe An gateway will rejoin Vietnam's domestic network from December 19, easing pressure on alternate airports and changing how travelers plan winter and Tet 2026 trips into North Central Vietnam.

What The Upgrade Project Changed

Vinh International Airport stopped operations at 00:00 on July 1, 2025 after the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam authorized a full closure so contractors could repair and strengthen the runway and taxiways without traffic on the field. The official shut down window initially ran through December 31, but Airports Corporation of Vietnam, ACV, and provincial authorities have since confirmed that work is on track to finish early and allow flights to restart on December 19 as part of a wider end of year infrastructure push.

The project is substantial by regional standards. ACV is investing nearly VND1 trillion, roughly 38 to 39 million dollars, across three linked upgrades, including runway and taxiway repairs, expansion of the aircraft parking apron from seven to nine Code C stands, and renovation of the domestic terminal T1. Once complete, the airport's upgraded runway and safety areas are expected to handle larger widebody aircraft such as the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 under Vietnam's broader plan to lift capacity to around 10 million passengers per year in the long term, although near term operations will remain focused on domestic narrowbody flights.

Inside the terminal, the project closes open atrium space to add several hundred extra seats, expands the departures level, and increases the number of security screening lanes from three to five, while terminal capacity targets rise to roughly 3 to 3.5 million passengers per year by 2030. For travelers, that should translate into shorter queues at peak times, more waiting space near the gates, and a bit more resilience when Tet and summer holiday demand outstrips earlier forecasts.

Flight Program From December 19

Vietnam Airlines has now confirmed that it will restart services into Vinh as soon as the airport is cleared to operate, with a relatively dense initial schedule. From December 19 the flag carrier plans seven daily round trips linking Vinh with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, including five round trips on the Ho Chi Minh City route and two between Vinh and the capital. That gives Tet travelers more choice on both the southern and northern legs, and restores connectivity for passengers who prefer to connect through Hanoi rather than take overnight trains or buses.

Low cost carrier Vietjet intends to move quickly as well. It has announced plans to resume its Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh service from December 19 with five daily round trips, rising to six on Saturdays during the peak. Combined, the Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet schedules will put more than ten daily return services on the core Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh corridor even before any additional airlines add back seasonal or secondary routes.

These frequencies matter because demand on south to north central routes is already tight. Local outlets report that Tet 2026 tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An are scarce and expensive, with many lower fare seats sold out weeks in advance and average one way prices on peak days several times higher than off peak. The extra capacity unlocked by Vinh's reopening should moderate some of that pressure, but travelers should not expect last minute bargains into the reopened gateway.

How Travelers Have Been Coping During The Closure

Since July, anyone trying to reach Vinh, Cua Lo beach, or inland districts in Nghe An and Ha Tinh has had to route through other airports, usually Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi in Quang Binh, or larger hubs such as Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) in Hanoi and Da Nang International Airport (DAD). Airlines responded by boosting services into those alternates, but on the ground that often meant long car or coach transfers of three to six hours, plus the usual risk of delays and congestion on Highway 1A and coastal roads.

For some itineraries, especially multi stop trips that already included Hanoi or Da Nang, the change was manageable, since overland links to Nghe An and Ha Tinh are frequent and relatively straightforward. For others, particularly family visits driven by Tet calendars or travelers with mobility issues, the additional road time turned what used to be a convenient domestic hop into a full day of mixed modes. That context is important when deciding whether to keep or change tickets now that Vinh will reopen earlier than first advertised.

When To Keep Alternate Routings Versus Switching Back To Vinh

The main factors are total travel time, ticket flexibility, and peak demand dates. If you already hold a confirmed itinerary for late December or early January that connects through Hanoi or Da Nang and includes a through ticket on one airline, you may not gain much by changing if your ground transfer is under three hours and change fees are high. For those trips, it can be simpler to keep plans, allow extra buffer on the road, and reserve a private transfer or reputable coach in advance rather than scrambling for scarce seats on new Vinh flights that may depart at less convenient times.

For Tet focused travel in February 2026, the calculus is different. Many return flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An around key family gathering days are already either sold out in lower fare buckets or priced well above normal levels. In that context, a nonstop into Vinh that trims several hours off each direction and delivers you much closer to home may justify paying a fare difference, especially if your current routing involves multiple road segments and overnight stops. Travelers should compare the total door to door time and cost of the current plan against new options that include Vinh, then decide quickly, since remaining seats will not last.

International passengers connecting into North Central Vietnam face a similar trade off. Some may prefer to keep long haul itineraries into Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and then take a short domestic sector into Vinh once the airport reopens. Others will be comfortable retaining a mix of domestic flight plus road segment via Thanh Hoa or Dong Hoi, especially if those tickets are non changeable or if their final destination is actually closer to those alternates than to Vinh itself.

Background: Vinh Airport's Role In North Central Vietnam

Vinh International Airport sits just north of Vinh city in Nghe An, a regional economic center that also serves as a gateway for cross border trade with Laos and other parts of mainland Southeast Asia. Before the 2025 closure, the airport typically handled 15 to 26 daily flights, mostly domestic services by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, and Pacific Airlines on routes to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and several other Vietnamese cities.

Growth over the past decade has repeatedly pushed facilities toward their design limits, prompting ACV and transport planners to position Vinh as a key node in Vietnam's broader airport expansion strategy, which aims to increase national passenger capacity to roughly 294 million a year by 2030 and bring more than 95 percent of the population within about 100 kilometers of an airport. The current upgrade is a midlife step on that path, designed to relieve bottlenecks and prepare the field for larger aircraft and more frequent operations without waiting for entirely new airports to open.

For travelers, the practical takeaway is that Vinh's reopening is not just a return to the status quo. It should mean more seats, better facilities, and more resilient operations during the very periods, such as Tet and school holidays, when flights into North Central Vietnam have historically been hard to secure. Anyone with upcoming travel into Nghe An and Ha Tinh should treat December 19 as a key pivot date, review current bookings, and adjust plans while change options are still relatively open.

Alongside flight planning, international visitors should also confirm they have the correct visas and entry documents for Vietnam well in advance. Adept Traveler's Vietnam entry requirements guide in the Guides section can help U S travelers understand current e visa rules and permitted ports of entry, while the Vietnam destination coverage under Asia news keeps track of storms, airport projects, and other events that can affect itineraries.