Ho Chi Minh City, Feb. 22 -- Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City handled nearly 180,000 passengers on February 22, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year - the Year of the Horse, setting a new record and far exceeding the projected peak of 165,000.

According to the airport's operation centre, a total of 1,069 flights were operated during the day, serving 177,859 passengers. The figure was well above the earlier Tet forecast, which estimated an average of 145,000 passengers per day.

At Terminal 1, operated mainly by Vietjet Air for domestic services, 263 flights carried more than 45,000 passengers, with arrivals outnumbering departures.

At Terminal 2 for international flights, inbound and outbound passenger numbers were ...