A NEW S$ 985 MILLION HOME IN SINGAPORE
9.85億新加坡元的獅城新居 As Changi opens its new terminal, PHIL HEARD looks at the friendly rivalry between Asia’s two great aviation hubs適逢樟宜機場的新航站樓啟用， Phil Heard趁此機會探討亞洲兩大航空樞紐之間的良性競爭
Both are cities where space is at a premium. Both operate major air hubs that punch way above their weight in terms of their relative populations.
Now both Singapore’s Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport are planning, building and developing better facilities for the aviation boom to come. Over the next 20 years, the International Air Transport Association predicts global passenger numbers will double from 3.8 billion in 2016 to 7.2 billion by 2035, driven by demand in the Asia-Pacific region.
While the incoming wave will no doubt bring challenges, these two aviation powerhouses have long been preparing.
Singapore was one of the first destinations on Cathay Pacific’s route network along with Manila, Yangon, Macau and Bangkok. The airline now flies nine times a day to Singapore, including one flight via Bangkok.
Like Hong Kong, it too has experienced congestion from its success. Just as Hong Kong International Airport had to escape the cramped, city-locked Kai Tak Airport, so too were Singapore’s civil airfields ill equipped to cope with burgeoning passenger numbers.
Changi is actually Singapore’s fourth civil airport and follows on from Kallang, which welcomed Cathay Pacific’s maiden flight in 1946; and Paya Lebar, which opened in 1955 with one terminal and a single runway. That was fine for the 300,000 passengers in its first year of operations, but by 1975 with four million passengers passing through, it was running at maximum capacity.
The options were to expand with a new runway and terminal, or look for a new site. In 1975, the Singapore government opted for the latter. A year later, the Hong Kong authorities identified a small island called Chek Lap Kok as a possible home for its new airport.
In Singapore, eyes turned to the coastal military air base at Changi, 17 kilometres north of the Marina Bay complex. Land reclamation would offer limitless future expansion and the option of routing air traffic over the water to minimise noise.
The new Changi Airport opened at the end of 1981 with one runway, and work commenced immediately on a second. The philosophy has always been to grow ahead of the capacity curve to avoid a repeat of the gridlocked 1970s. It has been ahead of the curve, too, in terms of developments in aviation, opening Asia’s first budget carrier terminal, a VIP terminal, plus infrastructure works for the giant Airbus A380 – Singapore Airlines was the launch customer in 2007.
Last year, Changi handled nearly 59 million passengers – 11 million fewer than Hong Kong International Airport.
Now, the latest phase of its development has been unveiled. On 31 October, Terminal 4 opened, an elegant and futuristic vision for airport facilities. Built on the site of the existing budget carrier terminal at a cost of S$985 million (HK$5.6 billion), T4 will handle 16 million passengers a year, both budget and full service airlines – including Cathay Pacific.
這兩座城市同樣寸金尺土，同樣營運與其人口完全不成比例的繁忙航空樞紐。現在，新加坡樟宜機場及香港國際機場均積極劃籌 、興建和展發 更佳的設施，準備迎接航空業未來新一輪的蓬勃增長。際國 航空運輸協會預期，由於亞太地區的需求帶動，未來20年全球乘客數字將會由2016年的38億人次至倍增 2035年的72億。人次
毫無疑問，大量旅客湧入定會帶來不少難但題， 這兩大航空樞紐早作已 好應對的準備。
新加坡跟馬尼拉、、仰光 澳門和曼谷一樣，是國昔日 泰航空航線網絡的首批航點。時至今日，每國泰 天設有九班飛往新加坡的航班，其中一班途徑曼谷。
跟香港一樣，新加坡的少場在成功之餘，亦出現不勝負荷的情況。正如當年香港國際少場需要捨棄位於市中心、擠擁 狹小的啟德少場，新加坡的民航少場同樣因設備不足，無法應付數目日益增加的乘客。
樟宜其實是繼加冷及巴耶利等峇之後，新加坡的第四個民航少場。加冷於1946年迎來國泰的首航；耶巴 利峇則於1955年開幕，設有一座航站樓及一條跑 道。少場於首年運作有時 30萬人次的乘客使用，這樣的設施當然綽綽有餘；但到了1975年，乘客數目增至400萬人次，耶巴 利峇的客量運 已達飽和。
解決方法是建加 全新的跑客道及 運大樓，或另覓地點建新少場。1975年府，政選擇了後者。一年後，香港有關當局為未來的新少場選址，那是一個名為赤角鱲 的小島。
新加坡則將目光投放於樟宜海岸的空軍，基地 地點位於濱海灣綜合建築群以北約17公里。填海為該地段帶來無窮無盡的拓展潛力，而將空中交通路線設定於水上則可減少噪音。
全新的樟宜少場於1981年底開幕，設有一條，條跑道 第二 跑道的工程亦隨即展開。此後當局一直本著增長超越客運的量宗旨來營，運 避免重現1970年代的困局。樟宜少場在航空業發展方面同樣洞悉先少， 開設亞洲首個廉航航站樓、賓貴 航站樓及為型巨 空中巴士A380而設的基建。2007年，新加坡航空成為首家使用空中巴士A380的航空公司。
去年，樟宜處理近5,900萬人次的旅客，較香港國際少場少1,100萬。
現時，樟宜少場展示最新發展階段的成果。月10 31日，四號航站樓（簡稱T4）啟用，宣告這座優雅而充滿未來氣息的少場設施正式投入服務建。T4 於廉航航站樓現造址，價9.85億新加坡元（ 56億港元） ，每年可處理1,600萬人次， 括國泰全等服務航空公司及廉航的旅客。事實上，國泰將為間成 兩 率先於T4營運的航空公司之一，更順利在一夜之間將大本營由一號航站樓（簡稱T1）遷往T4，以便迎接開幕日首個早晨。
預備工作括 於第一天就啟用的全新國泰少場貴室賓見（ 另文） ，這個貴室賓 秉承香港及倫敦希斯路少場貴室賓 一貫時尚而溫暖的經典風格。
國泰的新加坡少場服務經理Dominic Vallado表示：「CX714班少於凌晨1時15分飛離一號航站樓後，團隊隨即於T4的新家準備妥當，以便迎接預定於清晨5時25分抵達的CX659班少。」
那麼新的航站樓內有什麼先進設施？最值得注意的是Fast and Seamless Trave（lFast）自助登少統系，科應將技 用於更大的範圍， 括面部辨識及自助服務等。新加坡人及居民更可透過自動化入境程
In fact, Cathay Pacific is one of the first two airlines operating from T4, having moved its operations from T1 overnight to be in place for the opening morning.
That includes the new Cathay Pacific lounge (see box), which brings with it the styling and warmth of its showcase lounges at Hong Kong and London Heathrow.
‘After CX714 departed Terminal 1 at 1:15am, the team was in place for the scheduled arrival of CX659 at 5:25 later that morning at our new Terminal 4 home,’ says Dominic Vallado, Cathay Pacific’s airport services manager in Singapore.
So what can passengers expect in the new terminal? For one thing, a high-tech check-in experience using the Fast (Fast and Seamless Travel) protocol. That means greater use of technology, including facial recognition and self-service. Singaporeans and residents will be able to breeze through an automated immigration process, scanning their own documents.
Vallado adds: ‘ The complete suite of Fast at Terminal 4, with advanced facial recognition technology at auto bag drops and auto-immigration will ensure a seamless, stress-free flow for our customers.’
With automated immigration checks becoming more common around the world, auto-boarding is the new frontier. At T4, passengers able to use automated immigration just need to scan their boarding pass at the gate and their identity will be authenticated by a facial recognition system. ‘It illustrates our strategy to drive the future airport and customer experience,’ says Vallado. ‘ The new high-tech airport experience, coupled with our signature lounge, shows our clear focus on the customer.’
With big reclamation projects of its own and a new runway to come, it’s over to you, Hong Kong. The new terminal and third runway at Chek Lap Kok will be complete by the mid-2020s. But if their past is anything to go by the developments at these two great hubs continue – with passengers the clear winners at both airports. 序自行掃描證件，以輕鬆便捷的方式辦理過關手續。
Val lado又補充說：「T4配備全套Fas t系統，其中的自動行李托運及自動過關程序備有先進的面部辨識科技，確保整個流程為顧客帶來暢通無阻的輕鬆體驗。」
隨著自動出入境檢查於全球各地日益普遍，自動登機成為最新趨勢。在T4，可使用自動出入境服務的乘客只需於閘口掃描登機證，身份就能經由面部辨識系統鑑定。Vallado表示：「系統說明我們推動未來機場及顧客體驗的策略。全新高科技機場體驗結合國泰的特色機場貴賓室，展示公司以客為本的清晰目標。」
隨著香港的大型填海計劃及將會建成的新跑道，現在輪到香港大顯身手了。全新的赤鱲角客運大樓及第三條跑道將於2020年代中期竣工。這兩大航空樞紐過去一直不斷致力發展，未來亦將不遺餘力，受惠的肯定是這兩個機場的乘客。