Nha Trang Airport Guide: From Air Base to Beach Gateway
Nha Trang Airport at Cam Ranh turned a famous Cold War air base into a resort gateway. Read about its twin runways, terminals, routes and transport.
By The Aviation Hub
6 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Nha Trang Airport, officially Cam Ranh International Airport, serves the beach city of Nha Trang and the wider Khanh Hoa province on Vietnam’s south central coast. It occupies a former military air base on the Cam Ranh peninsula, about 19 miles (30 km) south of the city. Before the pandemic it handled nearly ten million passengers a year, ranking fourth in Vietnam. Its traffic leans heavily towards international tourists from Korea, China and Russia.
Nha Trang Airport at a Glance
The IATA code is CXR and the ICAO code is VVCR. The terminals sit on the Cam Ranh peninsula, around 40 minutes by road from central Nha Trang. Elevation is 40 feet (12 m). There are two parallel runways and two passenger terminals, one for domestic flights and one for international. Airports Corporation of Vietnam runs the airport, while a private company, Cam Ranh International Terminal JSC, manages the international building.
Nha Trang Airport handled 9,747,172 passengers in 2019. Traffic fell below one million in 2021, recovered to about 5.7 million in 2023 and has since climbed back towards seven million. VietJet Air maintains a base here, and Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and a long list of Korean, Chinese and Russian carriers fly in. Flight times and terminal maps are on the airport’s official website.
From Cold War Base to Civil Airport
Cam Ranh Bay is a large, sheltered deep water harbour, and that made it strategic long before tourism arrived. The United States built a large air base here during the Vietnam War. After reunification, the Soviet Union leased the bay from 1979 as a naval and air facility, and Russian forces stayed until 2002. The airfield was then handed over for civil development.
Nha Trang’s original airport sat inside the city itself, beside the beach. Its runway was short and hemmed in by development, so the government moved civil flights to the former base. Cam Ranh International Airport opened to civil traffic on 19 May 2004, and the old Nha Trang Airport closed to airlines. The city site has since been redeveloped.
The domestic terminal, now Terminal 1, opened on 12 December 2009 and was upgraded in 2015 and 2016 to handle 2.7 million passengers a year. Rapid growth in Korean, Chinese and Russian tourism soon outstripped it. Terminal 2 opened on 30 June 2018 for international flights, and a second runway entered service in October 2019, just as traffic peaked.
Runways at Nha Trang Airport
Nha Trang Airport has two parallel concrete runways, 02L/20R and 02R/20L, each 3,048 m (10,000 ft) long and 45 m wide. Their length reflects the field’s military origins and comfortably handles wide body aircraft such as the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 used on Russian and Korean charters. Most daily traffic is Airbus A321neo and A320 equipment.
The runways run roughly north to south along the peninsula, so the sea breeze and the monsoon decide the direction in use. The second runway gives resilience for maintenance and lets controllers separate arrivals and departures at busy times, though volumes rarely require full parallel operations. The airfield is classed as both public and military, and the Vietnamese armed forces retain a presence on the base.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 1 handles domestic flights. It covers 14,000 square metres, has two aerobridges and can process about 800 passengers an hour. Terminal 2 is far larger at 50,500 square metres across three storeys, with 80 check in counters, 10 boarding gates, four aerobridges and six baggage belts. Its curved roof is inspired by a swallow’s nest, a nod to Khanh Hoa’s famous edible nests, and by the waves of Nha Trang Bay.
VietJet Air is the largest operator, flying A320s and A321s to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Vinh and Can Tho as well as several international points. Vietnam Airlines covers Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and several international points, and Pacific Airlines adds domestic and Chinese services. Korean Air, Asiana and Korean low cost carriers crowd the Seoul market. Aeroflot links the airport with Moscow, Vladivostok and Novosibirsk, and seasonal charters from China and Russia swell the summer and winter peaks.
Routes and Destinations
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are the domestic mainstays at Nha Trang Airport, served many times a day by VietJet and Vietnam Airlines. Seoul Incheon is the leading international route, roughly 2,050 miles (3,300 km) away, with several Korean carriers competing. Busan, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and a rotating cast of Chinese cities fill out the map. Almaty, Astana and Tashkent are unusual links that show how far Central Asian airlines will push for leisure demand.
The longest route is Belavia’s link to Minsk, about 5,190 miles (8,360 km) away, with Aeroflot’s Moscow flights, about 4,830 miles (7,780 km), next. Russian demand peaks in the northern winter, when Nha Trang’s dry season and warm sea are at their best. In 2018 international passengers made up about 70 per cent of traffic, an unusual ratio for a Vietnamese airport. Domestic flying has since grown faster, but international tourism still sets the rhythm. Cargo is modest, mostly seafood and bird’s nest products in aircraft bellies.
Getting to and from Nha Trang Airport
There is no rail link to Nha Trang Airport. The usual route north is the Nguyen Tat Thanh coastal boulevard, which runs along the Bai Dai beach strip and reaches central Nha Trang in 35 to 45 minutes. A dedicated airport bus runs to the city for around VND 65,000 (about £2) and is the cheapest sensible option. Metered taxis and Grab cars cost roughly VND 350,000 to 450,000 (£11 to £14).
Many visitors never go to the city at all. A growing cluster of resorts on the Cam Ranh peninsula and Bai Dai sits within 15 minutes of the terminals, and most offer transfers. Since 2023 the new expressway sections towards Cam Lam and Vinh Hao have made road trips south to Phan Rang and beyond much quicker. Nha Trang’s railway station serves the main north to south line but has no airport connection.
Spotting and Photography
Nha Trang Airport has no official viewing area, and the military status of the field changes the rules. Vietnam treats photography of defence sites seriously, and signs around the perimeter prohibit pictures in places. Enthusiasts usually stick to the public areas of the terminals, where the apron views from Terminal 2 are reasonable, and to the coastal road and beaches to the north.
Morning light favours the eastern side of the field, while afternoons bring haze and strong backlight off the bay. The mix is the reward: VietJet in its bright liveries, Korean low cost 737s and A321s, Aeroflot wide bodies and occasional Chinese charter carriers rarely seen in Europe. Do not climb fences or enter restricted zones, keep lenses away from military aircraft and comply immediately if security staff ask questions.
What Comes Next
The infrastructure is now ahead of demand. With two 10,000 ft runways and a terminal built for international growth, Cam Ranh has room to pass its 2019 peak. Vietnam’s national airport master plan envisages much higher capacity at the site over the coming decades. The return of Russian and Chinese tourism will decide how quickly that happens.
The risks are geopolitical rather than physical. Sanctions limit the aircraft Russian airlines can fly, and Chinese outbound travel has recovered unevenly. Korean demand remains the backbone. Expect Nha Trang Airport to keep growing as the resort strip at Bai Dai fills in, with domestic traffic now the steadier half of the business. See how it compares with Da Nang and Phu Quoc on our Airports of the World map.
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