Long Thanh Airport begins comprehensive operational readiness trials

On October 7, a representative of Long Thanh International Airport said the Long Thanh Airport Project is undergoing a comprehensive Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) program to test the readiness of its systems, procedures and personnel before the airport officially begins operations.

Baggage conveyor systems undergo trial runs at Long Thanh Airport. Photo: Pham Tung

As part of the operational readiness program, relevant agencies at Long Thanh Airport conducted a tabletop exercise and a field exercise based on a simulated scenario involving the reception and handling of a passenger flight arriving from an area affected by an infectious disease outbreak.

The drill scenario was developed to assess the ability of relevant agencies to coordinate their efforts, respond to situations and organize passenger services if a disease-related issue arose at the airport. The scenario and all participating passengers were simulated for the trial run. The exercise involved personnel from Long Thanh International Airport, consulting units, air traffic control, health quarantine authorities, border gate police, customs, ground service providers and airlines. Participants practiced health screening procedures, managing passenger flows, assisting passengers and coordinating their response to the situation in accordance with the prepared scenario.

This is one of the activities under the ORAT program, which is designed to ensure the airport is ready for operations by testing systems, practicing procedures and reviewing coordination among relevant agencies before it begins handling actual passengers.

According to Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), investor of Component Project 3, the comprehensive ORAT program at Long Thanh Airport is being carried out in three rounds, drawing on international experience and recommendations from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The first round runs through September and October 2026, the second is scheduled for November, and the third for December 2026. The exercises will cover three comprehensive scenarios encompassing core areas such as passenger services and transport connectivity, baggage handling, airside operations, security and safety, and information and communications technology (ICT). Through the exercises, ACV will assess risks and verify the readiness of the entire system, infrastructure and workforce before the airport officially begins operations. For the aviation fuel hydrant system (FHS), ACV expects to complete testing and trial operations and apply for a license from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam in November 2026.

In addition, to prepare for the operational phase of Long Thanh Airport, ACV has collaborated with the Incheon Airport Consortium to develop 55 operational scenarios. In September 2026, two of these scenarios underwent trial runs involving external agencies. Under the plan, the entire passenger processing system must be tested before the airport partially opens in December 2026 to ensure that it meets requirements for safety, service quality and operational readiness.

By P. Tung – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho