Tan Son Nhat
International Airport (SGN)
Tel: (08) 845-6654.
Tan Son Nhat International
Airport is 7 kilometres (4 miles) northwest of the city
centre. It's the largest of the 3 international airports in Vietnam
and there are more international flights than the capital city,
Hanoi. There are 22 airlines serving 18 cities in Asia and Europe
with regular flights to Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. The
terminal has recently been expanded in order to handle larger numbers
of passengers. Still, compared to most other South East Asian cities,
facilities are limited. A project to build a new
international terminal is planned, and is expected be operational
in a few years.
Major airlines
Vietnam Airlines (tel: (08) 832-0320) is the national
airline with a monopoly on most domestic routes. Pacific
Airlines (tel: (08) 932-5979 or 823-1285) has flights to
Danang, Hanoi, and as a handful of international routes.
Other major airlines are Cathay Pacific, Air France, Japan Airlines,
KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines, Airlines, Qantas, Lufthansa, Malaysian
Singapore Airlines and Thai International.
Approximate
flight times to Ho Chi Minh City from:
 London
is 15 hrs 15 minutes
New
York is 20 hrs 20 minutes
Los
Angeles is 18 hrs 40 minutes
Toronto
is 21 hrs 50 minutes
Sydney
is 9 hrs 5 minutes
Airport facilities
These include bureaux de change, a snack bar, duty free, and shops.
There are no car hire agents at the airport.
Business
facilities
None.
Arrival/departure tax
There is no arrival tax, but there is an international departure
tax of US$14, which must be paid in cash on departure,
and a domestic departure tax of VND25,000, which
is included in the airline ticket.
Transport
to the city
There is no bus or train service
to the city from the airport but metered taxis and minibuses
wait outside to take passengers to the city centre Drive
time is about 20 to 30 minutes. The taxi fare is
about US$5-6 to the city centre. |
