{
  "id": 647395,
  "title": "More than 100 flights disrupted as drones shut Vietnam's busiest airport for 2 hours",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/more-than-100-flights-disrupted-as-drones-shut-vietnams-busiest",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-12T08:33:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/traffic/more-than-100-flights-disrupted-as-drones-shut-vietnam-s-busiest-airport-for-2-hours-5108335.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On August 11, drones disrupted air traffic at Vietnam's busiest airport, Tan Son Nhat, causing over 100 flights to be delayed or diverted. Vietnam Airlines was responsible for the majority of the disruptions, accounting for about 64% of the flights and affecting over 10,000 passengers on domestic routes. Fifteen flights headed for Ho Chi Minh City and another 15 departing were held, while approximately 14 aircraft circled or rerouted to alternate airports.\n\nThe first incident occurred around 5:34 p.m. when a Vietjet flight from Cam Ranh reported sighting a drone 16 km out at 3,000 feet. At 6:14 p.m., a Boeing 777 departing from the same runway reported a drone roughly 500 meters off its right side. The airport immediately activated its drone response plan and halted all takeoffs and landings. Seven departures were already waiting to leave when operations were suspended at 7:16 p.m.\n\nThe issue persisted for two hours, with the control tower reporting 73 flights directly affected, followed by downstream delays. VATM recorded 19 flights impacted within a narrower window from 6:14 to 7:14 p.m. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam is now working with the Ho Chi Minh City Military Command and police units to determine the source of the drones.\n\nAir traffic flow coordinators suspended flights destined for Tan Son Nhat from other airports, held aircraft on the ground, and resequenced departures. During the second drone incursion, restrictions were widened to include more airports in Vietnam and abroad. Tan Son Nhat is the most busy airport in Vietnam, handling over 42.4 million passengers on 255,376 flights in 2025, with peak traffic reaching more than 177,000 passengers on a single day in February.",
  "summary": "Two waves of unauthorized drone activity over Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of Aug. 11 disrupted more than 100 flights, according to preliminary counts from airlines.",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 100 flights disrupted at Vietnam's busiest airport Tan Son Nhat",
    "Drones caused delays or diversions for more than 10,000 passengers",
    "Incident lasted 2 hours with 73 flights directly affected"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The drone disruptions at Vietnam's busiest airport highlight the vulnerability of air traffic to external threats and will likely prompt increased scrutiny of security measures at Tan Son Nhat and beyond.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}