[Photos] Look Back at Hanoi's Nội Bài Airport in 1995

In February, 1995, Yuichi Kobayashi, a Japanese businessman, came to Vietnam with a mission to set up a factory here.

He would live in Hanoi for the next 14 years, with trips back and forth to Japan now and then. In his luggage was always a camera, with which he documented one place that he passed through frequently: Nội Bài Airport.

The airport was named after the village whose land it built on. It welcomed the first international flight in 1978, almost two decades before Kobayashi came here. Through his photos, we can see the Nội Bài of the past, with a smaller space and much more comfortable sofas compared to the metal benches now.

Still, there are things that remain the same, some passengers still need to go to the planes by bus, and the crowd is a mix between those lounging around and those rushing to their gates.

The way to board international flights. Duty-free shops lined this hallway.

In front of the boarding gate. All the sofas have now been replaced by metal benches.

The airport’s terminal. This photo was taken on the upper floor, the international area. The lower floor was reserved for domestic flights.

The buses that will take passengers to the planes. These Tupolev TU-134 vehicles were made by the Soviet Union.

Technicians in front of Vietnam Airlines’ A320 plane.

Vietnam Airlines’ A320 plane. The logo back then was “a stork flying past the full moon.” The lotus logo replaced the stork in 2002.

At this time there were no boarding bridges, all passengers had to go to the plane via buses and stair cars.

[Photos via Redsvn]