Aircraft picking up passengers at Phu Cat Airport: Dao Tien Dat
On 15/12, the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee said it had sent a document to the Ministry of National Defense setting out a plan for the airport to reach category 4C in 2021–2030, with a capacity of 5–7 million passengers and 12,000 tons of cargo per year. By 2050, Phu Cat would be upgraded to a category 4E airport with a capacity of 12–15 million passengers and 27,000 tons of cargo per year, and its aircraft parking positions would increase from 26 to 35.
Currently, the airport land covers 860 ha, of which civil aviation manages nearly 15 ha, with the remainder managed by the military or shared. Binh Dinh therefore asks the Ministry of National Defense to consider handing over 99 ha of military land to civil aviation management, plus 54 ha of jointly used military land.
Located 30 km northwest of Quy Nhon City center, Phu Cat Airport currently has a two-story terminal that can serve 600 passengers at peak hour, with a design capacity of 2.5 million passengers a year; a runway more than 3,000 m long and 45 m wide; and an apron with 7 positions.
Last month, the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee recommended investing to expand the apron (from 7 to 14 parking positions) and build a second category 4E runway from the state budget so that large aircraft such as the Boeing 787, 777 and Airbus A350 can be handled. The province also wants to build a new terminal under the PPP (public–private partnership) method, raising the airport’s capacity to 5 million passengers a year and cargo to 50,000 tons a year.
