Changi Airport surpasses 60 million passenger movements

SINGAPORE: Changi Airport Group (CAG) celebrated the crossing of yet another milestone in Changi Airport’s history, recording 60 million passenger movements in 2017, a first in a calendar year.

“It was only in 2012 that we marked our 50 million milestone. Five years on, we have increased annual traffic by 20% or 10 million,” Lee Seow Hiang said in a statement.

Lee noted that with the new Terminal 4, and an upcoming development projects such as the expansion of Terminal 1, the Changi East project as well as a new passenger terminal at Seletar Airport, CAG would ensure that the country’s airports continue to have sufficient capacity to meet the region’s demand for air travel in the decades ahead, and contribute to Singapore’s economic success in the long run.

CAG said with more than 60 million passengers now passing through Changi Airport yearly, the aviation sector would continue to be a key contributor to Singapore’s economy.

It provided about 160,000 jobs, and contributed 6% of Singapore’s gross domestic product, it said.

The airport operator said the steady growth in aviation was expected to continue, with Asia as the centre of aviation growth in the next 20 years.

Since Changi Airport’s opening in 1981, four terminals have been opened to cater for its growth, with Terminal 4 commencing operations on Oct 31 this year.

Passenger traffic has increased steadily in the last 36 years.

By 1986, Changi was already serving about 10 million passengers per annum (mppa), and this increased to 20 mppa in 1994, 30 mppa in 2004, 40 mppa in 2010 and 50 mppa in 2012.

In April this year, the airport recorded its one billionth passenger since opening. — Bernama