Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is Vietnam's busiest airport, serving Ho Chi Minh City from a site with roots in French colonial aviation and a pivotal role as a military airbase during the Vietnam War. Today it is a major international hub with two long parallel hard-surfaced runways and full ATC and ILS coverage, making it a straightforward if busy destination for simulator pilots flying into Southeast Asia.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (ICAO: VVTS) serves Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest metropolitan area, and is operated as a major civil-military aerodrome. It began life as a modest French colonial airfield in the 1920s and has grown into the busiest airport in the country, handling tens of millions of passengers a year. For a simulator pilot it offers a high-density, fully controlled international arrival with long concrete runways, ILS approaches and a rich Vietnam War-era history that adds character to any visit.
The airport lies within Ho Chi Minh City's controlled airspace and is a major international gateway for the Ho Chi Minh FIR. It sits close to the city centre, in what was formerly the Tan Binh district, within the wider Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. As a large international and military airport, arriving and departing traffic is fully integrated with area control and approach services rather than uncontrolled VFR routes.
The airport has two parallel hard-surfaced runways aligned 07/25, both lit. Runway 07L/25R is 9,977 feet long, with an ILS provided on the 25R approach. Runway 07R/25L is the longer of the pair, with published lengths of 10,029 feet for 07R and 12,551 feet for 25L, and both ends are equipped with ILS. Field elevation is 26 feet.
Tan Son Nhat provides a full suite of ATC services. Published frequencies are Approach 125.5 MHz, ATIS 128 MHz, Ground 121.9 MHz and Tower 118.7 MHz. Both runway ends are served by ILS, supporting instrument approaches in the busy traffic environment typical of this airport.
As a major controlled international and military airport, Tan Son Nhat does not operate informal VFR joining or circuit procedures for general aviation; arriving and departing aircraft are sequenced by approach and tower control in accordance with standard instrument and radar procedures.
Tan Son Nhat has its origins in the early 1920s, when the French colonial government built a small airfield with unpaved runways near the village of Tan Son Nhut, later expanding it during the 1930s. By the mid-1950s, with American aid, a 7,200-foot runway had been constructed, and the airfield became South Vietnam's principal international gateway. During the Vietnam War, Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a critical facility for both the United States Air Force and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, and between 1968 and 1974 it was one of the busiest military airbases in the world, with Pan Am and Continental Airlines operating scheduled and charter services alongside military traffic. Following the war, the airport transitioned to civilian use and saw steady growth, with United Airlines resuming US service in December 2004 for the first time since Pan Am's final flight during the Fall of Saigon in 1975.
Tan Son Nhat is now Vietnam's busiest airport and a hub for Vietnam Airlines and VASCO, with other Vietnamese carriers including Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, VietJet Air, Vietravel Airlines and Vietstar Airlines also based there. It has expanded substantially in recent years, including the 2017 transfer of military land for additional aircraft parking and the opening of a new domestic terminal, T3, in April 2025, which increased overall capacity to around 50 million passengers a year. The airport continues to operate both civil and military flying alongside its heavy commercial schedule.