Da Lat airport to close for upgrade in March 2026
The temporary closure for runway upgrades of Lien Khuong International Airport, the main gateway to resort hill town Da Lat, has been postponed to March 2026 from November this year.
The new schedule was approved by officials from the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Lam Dong Province during a meeting last week.
The upgrade work is expected to last around six months and be completed before the rainy season in 2026.
It will see the runway extended to 3,250 meters long and 45 meters wide, construction of a turn pad and improvements to taxiways E1 and E2, brake strips, drainage systems, airfield lighting, and aviation signage.
The total cost is expected to be over VND1.045 trillion (US$41 million).
According to the ACV, the airport, which handled nearly a million passengers in the first half of this year, shows signs of deterioration.
Lam Dong Province chairman Ho Van Muoi sought the delay since the work would have coincided with the construction of several key transportation routes in the province, potentially worsening disruptions to tourism and the economy.
The airport, 28 km from Da Lat, was built by the French in 1933 and upgraded by the Americans in 1956 when they colonized Vietnam.
The airport currently serves around 2.5 million passengers a year, mostly domestic travelers and visitors from South Korea and Thailand.
The upgrade plan envisages the airport reaching 4E standards by 2030, meaning it will become capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A350, and serving five million passengers and 20,000 tons of cargo a year.
After 2030 the runway will be extended to 3,600 meters, and the terminal capacity will be increased to seven million passengers.
By Truong Ha & Khanh Huong – VnExpress.net – July 22, 2025