Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi has broken its record set for the number of international passengers handled in a single day during and after Tet or the Lunar New Year 2024.

According to statistics released recently by the Civil Aviation Authority, there were days when Hanoi airport received 233 international flights with more than 38,000 visitors, breaking the previous record set in 2019 (37,000 passengers), the year before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Passengers checking in at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Pham Hung/The Hanoi Times

In mid-February (the week after the Tet holiday), Noi Bai International Airport handled an average of 531 flights per day (an increase of 8.8% over previous weeks) and a daily throughput of nearly 94,100 visitors, representing an increase of 19.8% from the previous week.

In recent days, Noi Bai International Airport has become overcrowded with international passengers in public waiting rooms and check-in counters during certain hours, especially from 8:00 pm to midnight.

During the seven days of Tet holiday 2024, Noi Bai Airport reported 365 cases of people forgetting and leaving their belongings at the airport.

On February 16, airport authorities returned a bag containing US$4,300 to a Thailand-bound passenger within 15 minutes of finding it on a trolley in a public area leading to the T2 International Terminal.

As the bag contained no personal documents, the airport's mobile security team conducted a thorough search and located its owner at stand B1. Following verification procedures, the passenger got his bag in time to board a flight to Bangkok later that day. 

Passenger V.Q.D., an owner of a forgotten bag on a trolley containing US$4,300, thanked Ha Thi Tuoi, the Noi Bai Airport employee who found the bag, for her kind gesture. Photo: Phan Cong/Hanoimoi