There are positive signs of travel demand as Singapore’s Changi gateway is set to reopen Terminal 4 (T4) from this September, while departures from the southern wing of Terminal 2 (T2) are due to resume the following month.
According to Changi Airport Group (CAG), dialogue has already started between it, airlines, airport partners and potential tenants, in preparation for the September date. T4 will handle departing and arriving rotations, while CAG anticipates carriers that previously operated into the terminal will return there.
Elsewhere, with departures from T2’s southern wing expected from October, it forms part of the wider phased reopening of this terminal. The first phase of T2’s reopening occurred on May 29, with the southern wing handling arrival operations. T2 temporarily shut in May 2020 for upgrade works, and, according to CAG, completion of these is set to raise terminal capacity to 28 million passengers annually in 2024 – an increase of five million. Currently, expansion progress on the northern wing continues.
Lee Seow Hiang, CAG’s chief executive officer, said: “The fast rebound in travel demand has given us encouragement to prepare Changi for the recovery of passenger volume back to pre-COVID-19 levels. The additional capacity offered by T4 and T2 will put Changi in a good position to capture this recovery and support the business and operational needs of airlines.”
Passenger figures for the first week of June at Singapore/Changi reached 48% of pre-COVID-19 levels, compared with the same timeframe in June 2019. Changi Airport Group added that passenger traffic continues to “recover steadily”.
Photo: Changi Airport
