Singapore Changi Airport Reports August Traffic

Singapore Changi Airport handled 4.68 million passengers in August 2013, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year.

Air traffic movements grew correspondingly, with a total of 29,600 landings and take-offs recorded during the month, or 8.2% more compared to a year ago.

In terms of airfreight, 151,000 tonnes of cargo were processed at Changi Airport last month, a slight decline of 0.5% year-on-year.

Travel demand during the month was boosted by an extra long weekend that included both the Hari Raya Puasa and National Day public holidays in Singapore.

Travel to and from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which also celebrated the Hari Raya festival, registered particularly strong growth.

There was also a double-digit increase in traffic between Singapore and China as well as Japan.

On a rolling year basis, passenger traffic and aircraft movements grew to 53.0 million (+6.6% on-year) and 336,100 (+5.2%) respectively. Airfreight movements were stable at 1.85 million tonnes for the 12-month period.

As at 1 September 2013, more than 100 airlines operate at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 250 cities in some 60 countries and territories worldwide. With more than 6,700 weekly scheduled flights, an aircraft takes off or lands at Changi roughly once every 100 seconds.

New Services and Frequency Changes

Several carriers have continued to take advantage of the new bilateral air services agreement between Singapore and Indonesia to mount additional services in August and September.

Garuda Indonesia added a ninth daily service to Jakarta and up-gauged two of its frequencies from the smaller Boeing 737-800 to the bigger Airbus 330.

Tigerair Mandala also increased its Singapore-Jakarta services from three to four times a day.

With now close to 60,000 weekly one-way seats, the Singapore-Jakarta route has become the fastest growing and second busiest international route in the world.

To other parts of Indonesia, SilkAir has introduced a thrice-weekly service to Makassar while AirAsia has launched two daily services to Medan. Tigerair has also started a daily service to Bandung, a new route for the airline.

New Stores @ Changi

Renowned for their accessories and handbags, fashion labels Furla and Tory Burch, have each opened their first boutiques at Changi, in Terminal 1 (transit area).

Trendy scarves can be found at the new Pashma store in Terminal 1 (transit), its third in Changi.

For the latest range of electronic gadgets, check out the E-Gadget Extra shop in Terminal 1 (transit).

Those looking for a relaxing massage before their flight can visit the new Wellness Spa in Terminal 2 (transit).

Over in the public areas, supermarket chain NTUC Fairprice has opened its second outlet at Changi Airport, located at the Terminal 2 Basement.