First technical flight marks takeoff of Long Thanh - Vietnam’s largest airport
DNO - Vietnam has marked a key milestone in its aviation development as the first technical flight successfully landed at the Long Thanh International Airport, the country’s largest and most ambitious airport project, ahead of its official opening later this week.
Welcoming Vietnam's largest passenger jet
A Boeing 787 operated by Vietnam Airlines departed Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and touched down at the Long Thanh mega airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.
The aircraft, operating under flight code VN5001, completed the test flight as part of final operational preparations for the new airport, which is scheduled to welcome its first official flights on December 19 and commercial operations in the first half of 2026.
After landing, the wide-body aircraft taxied slowly along the runway before entering the apron, where it was greeted with a traditional water salute from airport fire tenders, marking the first safe landing at Long Thanh.
The aircraft was then towed by specialised ground vehicles to its designated parking stand, where standard post-landing and technical procedures were carried out in the same manner as a commercial flight.
As a technical operation, the Boeing 787 carried only flight crew and technical staff and returned to Ho Chi Minh City shortly after completing the test.
The aircraft is currently the largest passenger jet in service with Vietnamese airlines, with a maximum seating capacity of around 340 passengers.
The flight conducted a full sequence of departure, approach and landing procedures, providing a comprehensive assessment of operational coordination between Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh, two of southern Vietnam’s most important aviation hubs.
The test also evaluated the readiness of air traffic control systems, runway operations, ground handling and technical infrastructure.
The world’s most-watched flight of the day
According to flight-tracking platform Flightradar24, the test flight attracted significant global attention, becoming the world’s most-watched flight of the day.
As reported, the flight, VN5001, attracted over 12,000 online trackers at its peak, making it the most-watched flight of the day worldwide.
Long Thanh Airport is scheduled to receive its first official flights on December 19, when three aircraft operated by three different airlines (Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo Airways) will depart from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, land sequentially at Long Thanh, and then return to Noi Bai.
Long Thanh International Airport covers an area of 5,000 hectares in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province, and is being developed in three phases.
Phase 1 includes an air traffic control tower, a 4,000m by 75m runway, a passenger terminal with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year, cargo facilities handling up to 1.2 million tonnes annually, and supporting infrastructure.
Basic construction is set for completion in 2025, with commercial operations expected in the first half of 2026. The total investment for this phase exceeds VND99 trillion (US$ 4 billion).
Key infrastructure components, including the runway, aircraft parking stands, air traffic control facilities and technical systems, have largely been completed.