Singapore’s Changi Airport Group (CAG) has announced a S$3 billion investment over the next six years aimed at updating baggage handling, check-in, and immigration, and other services reaching “end-of-life”, as well as improving Skytrain connections between terminals.
The funding will come partly from raised airport charges between 2025 and 2030, the airport said. However, some of those revenues will refill pots emptied by previous works, such as the expansion of Terminals 2 and 3 at a time when passenger fees and charges were frozen due to Covid-19.
Rebates and price monitoring to ensure competitiveness
Airport and airline charges are a hot topic at present, with pilot strikes taking place in France due to fears about the impact of increased aviation taxes, and some airlines threatening to withdraw from certain markets altogether. Changi is attempting to mitigate any such impacts from its new charges, with a “50% rebate on increases in landing, parking and aerobridge (LPA) charges” given to airlines for the first six months of the transition period.
It has also assured stakeholders that “the increase in passenger fees is estimated to be about 1% or less for an economy class ticket on most flights departing from or connecting through Singapore. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will work with CAG to monitor the air hub’s performance to respond nimbly and make further adjustments if needed, to ensure the air hub’s competitiveness.”
Catering for growing passenger numbers
A global doubling of air transport passengers is foreseen over the next 10 years by bodies such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International (ACI), and it is expected to be driven by demand in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the epicentre of that, Changi has an eye on its handling capacities. Its list of impending works is long and varied, including:
- Rejuvenation of Skytrain subsystems ahead of a full overhaul in the “late 2030s”;
- Upgrading of Terminal 3 Baggage Handling System and the new Terminal 1 to 3 Inter-Terminal Baggage Conveyance System will boost capacity by 65%.
- A new rooftop Inter-Terminal Baggage Conveyance System connecting Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 to ease the demand on the current underground system and reduce the manpower needed for the towing of baggage.
- More check-in rows at Terminal 4 to increase the terminal’s check-in capacity by about 15% and allow it to accommodate up to 2,500 passengers per hour.
- Expansion of Terminal 1 Arrival Immigration Halls by almost 60%.
- Strengthening of airside infrastructure to accommodate the new Boeing B779 family, the world’s longest twin-engine aircraft, with a demanding wheel load.
