Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi handled import and export formalities for 209 international flights with 54,000 passengers during the week-long Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Passengers at Noi Bai International Airport during the Lunar New Year 2023. Photo: VGP

A week before Tet holiday, the airport operated more than 5,600 flights from January 19-29, up 49% annually, including 1,789 international flights. The number of passengers hit nearly 900,000, up 71%, including 246,000 foreigners.

On January 20 [the 29th day of the last lunar month], the airport operated 550 flights carrying out 83,000 passengers, up 51.5% and 97%, respectively from 2022.

Up to 104,000 passengers and 580 flights went through Noi Bai International Airport on the busiest day during the Tet holiday. Airport authorities estimated that a quarter of passengers and one-third of flights were international.

In addition, more than 2,300 flights with some 332,000 passengers passed through airports across Vietnam on January 20, up 36% and 68%, respectively, from the same day in 2022.

The Hanoi airport raised the security level from January 16 to 28, increased the number of security personnel on duty by 20% compared to normal days, opened all check-in counters, and operated security scanners at the maximum level.

According to the daily flight schedule of Noi Bai International Airport, there were 546 flights (158 international and 388 domestic) during Tet, with 65,600 domestic passengers and 22,000 international visitors. In recent days, actual passenger numbers have often been higher than expected.