A water cannon salute welcomes the first technical flight to Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, December 15, 2025. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre
The Boeing 787-9 aircraft, registered VN-A863 and operated by Vietnam Airlines, departed Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 3:34 pm local time and landed at Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai Province at 4:00 pm, carrying only the flight crew and technical personnel.
According to Flightradar24, the flight, VN5001, attracted over 12,000 online trackers at its peak, making it the most-watched flight of the day worldwide.
It was designed to test operational procedures, including departure, approach, and landing, and to evaluate coordination between Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh airports.
Vietnam Airlines’ Boeing 787 performs its first technical flight landing at Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, December 15, 2025. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre
The Airports Corporation of Vietnam confirmed that key infrastructure, including runway lighting and instrument landing systems, had been successfully tested to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
Long Thanh Airport is set to welcome its first commercial flights on Friday, with three aircraft from Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo Airways scheduled to land in five-minute intervals before returning to Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi.
