NOI BAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Noi Bai International Airport (IATA: HAN, ICAO: VVNB), the biggest airport in Northern Vietnam, serves the capital city of Vietnam. The airport is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) from the city’s central district. Noi Bai International Airport plays an important role as both a traffic gateway connecting the North and also connecting Vietnam with other countries all over the world. There are 29 international airlines operating at Noi Bai International Airport and, daily, an average of more than 250 flights is processed.

Traffic movement through Noi Bai International Airport has increased strongly in recent years and ACV has been constructing a new International Terminal (T2) to provide better services and a more modern travel experience to passengers. With over 140,000 m2 total space, the new terminal will able to serve up to 15 million passengers/year and traffic movement will be increased to 151,588 turns.

The main airport that serves Hanoi and many surrounding Northern provinces is Noi Bai International Airport (HAN). The airport is located about 40km from city center, in the middle of a rice paddy field suburban area that once belonged to Vinh Phuc province.

Location

Noi Bai is located 28 miles north of Hanoi City Center. Travel time between Hanoi Old Quarter and Noi Bai Airport is about 1 hour or 45 minutes without traffic.  

Arrival and Departure Hall

The first floor of the airport is arrival lobby with a check-in area for Jetstar Airlines. You can find currency exchange booths, airport taxi services and information booths on this floor. There are only 2 arrival doors- one for domestic and one for international flights.

The second floor has departure gates and check-in areas for all airlines except for Jetstar. Boarding gates from 2-5 is on the far left of the airport and boarding gates from 6-10 is on the far right. In the middle and near the elevator is the border police control door. The custom declaration form has been abandoned for all outbound travellers as of September 2010.

The airport top floor has several restaurants and bars that serve breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The food is decent and inexpensive but do not expect an international selection.

As you step down from an international flight, you will be passing through immigration office first - this is where you pick up your visa on arrival. If you already have a visa you can go straight to Customs, have your passport scanned and go to collect your baggage.

From Noi Bai Airport to city center

Taxis are well regulated as you step out of the airport. The fixed rate from the airport to city center is VND 315,000 (about US$16) and you can request for a drop-off at your hotel. The reverse route is 180,000 ($9).

Vietnam Airlines has a minibus crew waiting to the far left as you leave the airport. This convenient service will drop you off at the company’s office at 2 Quang Trung street, about 1km away from Hanoi Old Quarter. Ticket price is $2 one way.

The cheapest, but not the best option, is local bus. Bus #7 runs every half hour from the airport and stop at Daewoo Hotel and from there you can catch #9 which run straight downtown to Sword Lake. The total ticket price is 40 cents.