Changi Airport crosses 1 billion passengers mark, on course for record this year

More than 1 billion passengers have passed through Changi Airport since it first opened in 1981, said the airport in a media release on Monday (May 29).

The 1 billion-mark was crossed last month, the airport said, adding that it is on course to handle a record 60 million passengers this year.

There were 5.17 million passenger movements at Changi Airport in April, a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase. The airport said passenger traffic for April was boosted by growth across all regions except for the Middle East, with nine out of Changi’s top 20 country markets registering double-digit growth. It included India (16 per cent), Indonesia (16 per cent) and Malaysia (11 per cent).

The opening of Terminal 4 in the second half of this year could boost Changi’s total passenger capacity to around 85 million per year by 2020, it was previously reported. And when Terminal 5 opens in the mid-2020s, Changi Airport could handle up to 135 million passengers per year.

Changi Airport’s passenger traffic has risen steadily annually – it handled over 20 million passengers per annum (mppa) in 1994, 30 mppa in 2004, 40 mppa in 2010, and 50 mppa in 2012. Last year, the airport registered a record 58.7 million passengers.

The Singapore air hub has also grown with the rise in passenger traffic – in 1981, 34 airlines operated to 67 cities; today, about 120 airlines link Singapore to more than 380 cities globally.
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Among the latest additions to the airport is a new daily service to Hanoi launched by VietJet on April 27. Currently, seven carriers connect Singapore to three cities (Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam.