Vietnam’s Pleiku airport to be closed for seven months for upgrades

March 05, 2015 | 15:11

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The Pleiku Airport in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai will be temporarily shut down for an upgrading project, the terminal’s director announced Wednesday.

The airport will be closed between March 15 and October 25 following a request by the Ministry of Transport, according to director Nguyen Trong Hai.

The seven-month closure means all flights to and from the airport will end, he added.

Agents in Gia Lai, however, will remain open and sell tickets for flights departing from Buon Ma Thuot Airport in the neighboring province of Dak Lak, Hai said.

The Pleiku Airport will join hands with Gia Lai’s transport department and travel agencies to offer transportation to passengers who want to move from Pleiku to Buon Ma Thuot for departure.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is the only carrier to offer service to and from Pleiku Airport. The carrier has two flights to Hanoi, one to Da Nang, and five to Ho Chi Minh City on a daily basis.

The project to upgrade the airport, which broke ground in September 2014, will enter its second phase following the operation suspension.

The VND950 billion (US$44.27 million) project includes expanding the airport’s runway, building two aprons to accommodate A321 aircraft, and upgrading the lighting system and the passenger terminal.

The project is funded by the central government’s and Gia Lai’s budgets, and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.

The expanded runway will be capable of serving A320, A321 and Boeing 737 jets.

Meanwhile, budget carriers Jetstar Pacific and VietJet Air will join Vietnam Airlines to offer services at the upgraded airport.

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