Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the only international airport in the planned Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area (covering , with an estimated population of 20-22 million inhabitants by 2020, of which there will be 16 - 17 million urban inhabitants, accounting for 77 - 80% of total population). Tan Son Nhat airport was built during the Vietnam War to support war transportation, hence its location inside the crowded Ho Chi Minh City where growth is limited. Due to location and safety issues, it is difficult to expand to meet the increasing annual growth of passengers. The maximum design capacity of Tan Son Nhat is 25 million passengers per annum but in 2016 it handled 32.5 million.