Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is Hanoi's airport. Terminal 1 handles domestic flights and Terminal 2 handles international flights. That division determines both the correct drop-off point and the connection process: an international arrival followed by a domestic departure involves changing buildings, with baggage and border formalities before the next flight.

T1 or T2: choose by the flight sector

An international flight into Hanoi arrives at T2. A domestic flight onward within Vietnam departs from T1. For the reverse journey, a domestic arrival uses T1 before an international departure from T2.

Give a driver the terminal as well as the airport name. A city transfer to HAN and a transfer between T1 and T2 are different journeys; arriving at the international building does not place a passenger at domestic check-in.

Using the free terminal shuttle

Noi Bai provides a free NIA shuttle between the two terminals. It runs from public arrivals-side stops, including the T1 Lobby A arrivals area. Follow the marked NIA terminal-shuttle signs for the other building.

This is a landside bus, rather than a connection that keeps every passenger inside the secure departure area. It is useful after completing the arrival process. It also differs from the numbered buses that carry passengers between the airport and destinations in Hanoi.

International arrival to domestic departure

The airport's published process is to collect checked baggage and complete customs at T2, take the terminal shuttle to T1, then report to the onward airline's transfer or check-in counter to hand over the bags again.

Build the connection around those steps, including the second flight's check-in deadline. A single airport code on both flights does not remove the terminal change. For separate tickets, leave a larger margin because the onward booking has its own conditions if the inbound flight is delayed.

An international connection follows another process

For an international-to-international connection, the airport directs transfer passengers to the transfer counter before immigration. That is a different route from leaving arrivals to take a city bus or the public terminal shuttle.

Use the airline transfer process for the actual itinerary. Permission to remain airside, baggage handling and any entry formalities depend on the booking and traveller; the T1–T2 shuttle alone does not establish eligibility for international transit.

Choose the Hanoi bus by its city endpoint

Bus 86 links the airport with Hanoi Railway Station, while route 17 serves Long Bien. These are useful starting points when the stay or onward journey is near the respective endpoint. A bus to the railway station is a road transfer to that station, not an airport train.

Other airport-listed routes serve Kim Ma on route 90, My Dinh on route 109 and Ha Dong on route 68. Match the endpoint to the accommodation address rather than treating every Hanoi bus as a direct ride to the same central stop.

When a car is the simpler arrival choice

A taxi or reserved car offers an address-to-address journey after an international arrival. It suits a group with several bags, a stay away from the listed bus endpoints or an arrival that does not fit the available bus service.