The airline’s first flight out of the new terminal left Quy Nhon for Hanoi at 9.30 Thursday morning.

The new terminal covers an area of 8,100 square metres, tripling the area of the old terminal. It hopes to give a better experience to passengers and improve the four-star service of Vietnam Airlines. Two additional check-in counters have been installed, increasing the total to eight.A 300-square-metre lounge on the second floor can accommodate 80 Golden Lotus members and business-class passengers.

Quy Nhon is a political, economic, cultural and tourism hub of Binh Dinh province. Tourist arrivals have surged more than 20 percent per year in recent years. The city hopes to welcome 4.67 million tourists by 2020. Vietnam Airlines is now operating 14 flights a week between Hanoi and Quy Nhon and 21 flights a week between Ho Chi Minh City and Quy Nhon. Last year, the carrier and its subsidiary Jetstar Pacific transported 619,000 tourists to Quy Nhon, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.