Tan Son Nhat, that’s the official name of Ho Chi Minh City’s airport, and that might be your first contact with Vietnam if you decide to fly to the South first. That’s why we decided to give you a quick introduction to this famous spot, in order for you not to think of it as an infamous spot. That’s true, Saigon Airport was ranked in the top ten worst airports in the world back in 2015, by a magazine that was focusing on the access to sleeping area and their comfort. That’s one of the reasons why the inglorious Tan Son Nhat airport made it to the news, but that’s not the only one. Tan Son Nhat’s origins go back to the early 30s, and even if pretty big efforts have been made to develop and adapt the national and international terminals to the growing demand, the airport has been saturated almost every year. In 2016, 32.5 millions passengers went though Tan Son Nhat airport, and it’s maximum capacity on a year was… 25 millions passengers. The nearly constant congestion pushed the government to build and adapt the airport, and they recently decided to build an entire new airport in another area of Saigon, not far from district 2, but nothing has started yet.

So if you are flying to the South of the country anytime soon, you will probably meet this poor beast that is Tan Son Nhat. Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as media say. The only thing you must remember is: avoid to fly from or to Tan Son Nhat during Lunar New Year, which is called TET in Vietnamese. That period, that usually takes place around February, is the longest national public holiday in the country, and the result of that is millions of people travelling around Vietnam, and many of them by plane. At this occasion and on specific high traffic timing, a simple stop to Saigon Airport can turn into a total nightmare…