Changi Airport
| Singapore Changi Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Summary | |||
| Type of airport | commercial | ||
| Run by | CAAS | ||
| Opened | 1 July 1981 | ||
| Closest city | Singapore | ||
| Distance from city | 20 km (12.5 miles) | ||
| Coordinates | 01°21′23″N 103°59′28″E / 1.35639°N 103.99111°E | ||
| Total area | 13 km² | ||
| IATA | SIN | ICAO | WSSS |
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Dimensions | Surface | |
| Length (m) | Width (m) | ||
| 02L/20R | 4,000 | 60 | Bituminous concrete |
| 02C/20C | 4,000 | 60 | Bituminous concrete |
| 02R/20L | 2,750 | 60 | Bituminous concrete (Changi Airbase (East)) |
| Taxiways | |||
| Length | 25,300 m | ||
| Width | 30 m | ||
| Passenger terminal buildings | |||
| Current totals | |||
| Floor area | 634,100 m² | ||
| Handling capacity | 44 million | ||
| Parking bays | 68 (aerobridge) 30 (remote) | ||
| Terminal One | |||
| Opened | 1 July 1981 (operational) 29 December 1981 (official) | ||
| Floor area | 276,100 m² | ||
| Handling capacity | 21 million | ||
| Parking bays | 32 (aerobridge) 16 (remote) | ||
| Terminal Two | |||
| Opened | 22 November 1990 (operational) 1 June 1991 (official) | ||
| Floor area | 358,000 m² | ||
| Handling capacity | 23 million | ||
| Parking bays | 34 (aerobridge) 10 (remote) | ||
| Terminal Three | |||
| Opened | 2008 (estimated) | ||
| Floor area | |||
| Handling capacity | 20 million | ||
| Parking bays | 28 (aerobridge) 1 (remote) | ||
| Low Cost Terminal | |||
| Opened | 2006 (estimated) | ||
| Floor area | |||
| Handling capacity | 2.7 million | ||
| Parking bays | (remote) | ||
| Operational statistics | |||
| Passenger movements | |||
| 1998 | 23,803,180 | 2002 | 28,979,344 |
| 1999 | 26,064,645 | 2003 | 24,664,137 |
| 2000 | 28,618,200 | 2004 | 30,353,565 |
| 2001 | 28,093,759 | 2005 | |
| Airfreight movements (tonnes) | |||
| 1998 | 1,283,660 | 2002 | 1,637,797 |
| 1999 | 1,500,393 | 2003 | 1,611,407 |
| 2000 | 1,682,489 | 2004 | 1,775,092 |
| 2001 | 1,507,062 | 2005 | |
| Aircraft movements | |||
| 1998 | 165,242 | 2002 | 174,820 |
| 1999 | 165,961 | 2003 | 154,346 |
| 2000 | 173,947 | 2004 | 184,932 |
| 2001 | 179,359 | 2005 | |
| Comments on this test infobox | |||
Singapore Changi Airport (Chinese: 新加坡樟宜机场; Malay: Lapangan Terbang Changi Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் சாங்கி விமானநிலையம்) (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) is a major aviation hub in Asia. It is located in Changi, about 20 km (12.5 miles) from the city centre. Operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Changi Airport is the home base of Singapore Airlines and is served by 79 airlines that operate more than 3972 weekly flights to 177 cities in the world.
In 2004, Changi Airport received a record 30.4 million passengers, a year-on-year growth of 23.1% in passenger traffic. Similarly, a record 1.78 million tonnes of cargo was moved, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.2% in airfreight volume. In addition, nine new airlines started operations at Changi Airport.
Changi's rise to become Asia's 4th largest hub has fuelled Singapore's thriving aerospace industry, which employs over 13,000 people and accounts for over $4.5 billion in output. Changi hub has also made Singapore an attractive pan-Asian logistics hub and supply chain management nerve centre. But Changi is not sitting idly by in the face of competition. Incentives like the Air Hub Development Fund, first introduced in 2003, have proven effective in attracting airlines here. A new $300 million fund to strengthen Changi's hub status will kick in next year when the current $210 million fund expires this year. Changi has also been courting low cost airlines with its $45 million Low Cost Terminal, which will be ready next year. But the real ace in its pack is Singapore Airlines. As long as SIA remains the world beater that it is, and provides the kind of hub-spoke connectivity out of Changi which no other airline or airport can match, Changi will remain a leading Asian hub
History
The replacement vs. expansion debate
Rapid growth in aviation transportation in the world was also felt in Singapore, where the Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar, Singapore's third civilian airport after Kallang Airport and Seletar Airport, was facing congestion problems. Opened in 1955, the airport had a single runway and a small passenger terminal building. Its inability to cope with rising traffic became critical by the 1970s when passenger numbers rose dramatically from 300,000 to 1.7 million passengers annually by 1970, before leaping to 4 million annually in 1975.
The government had two options available: expand the existing airport or build a completely new airport at another location. Concerned that the existing airport was located in an area with potential for urban growth and was physically helmed in on all sides, the government decided in 1975 to build a new airport at the eastern tip of the main island at Changi, where the airport can be expanded by reclaiming land. In addition, the airplanes can fly over the sea, avoiding issues of noise pollution within residential areas experienced at Paya Lebar.
Preparing the land
Land reclamation works involving the use of over 52 million m³ of landfill and seafill began in Changi, even as the airport at Paya Lebar was still in the midst of expansion works. About 2 km² of swamp land were cleared and filled with 12 million m³ of earth from nearby hills, while another 40 million m³ of sand were used to fill up the seabed, creating half of the airport's total land area.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of construction included work on the first passenger terminal building, the first runway, 45 aircraft parking bays and supporting facilities and structures, including a huge maintenance hangar, the first fire station, workshops and administrative offices, an airfreight complex, two cargo agents buildings, in-flight catering kitchens and a 80 m high control tower.
Opening
Phase 1 opened for commercial operation on 1 July 1981 and was officially opened with much fanfare on 29 December 1981. It ended its first year of operations with 8.1 million passengers and almost 200,000 tonnes of airfreight handled. 63,100 aircraft movements were recorded that year.
Phase 2
Phase 2 of construction commenced immediately after the completion of Phase 1 and included the completion of a second runway, 23 more aircraft parking bays, the second fire station and the third cargo agent building.
Awards and accolades
The airport is known for its excellent services and security, winning numerous worldwide accolades since its opening. Despite competition from much newer airports in the region, the airport continues to maintain its reputation for setting standards in airport service quality. It received 16 best airport awards in the year 2000, 20 in 2001, 23 in 2002, 20 in 2003 and 19 in 2004. It has garnered 6 so far in the year 2005.
Some notable awards and allocades the airport has received include:
- The only airport in the world to be currently classified as a 5 star airport, the highest category in Skytrax's "World Airport Star Ranking" [1]. In the "World Airport Survey" conducted by the same organisation, the airport came in second place for four consecutive years from 2002 to 2005 and was third in 2001, with a narrowing gap between itself and first placed Hong Kong International Airport in each successive year.
- "Best Airport in Asia" award by AETRA 2004, a new award by Airport World based on the "AETRA Customer Satisfaction Survey" launched in 2004 and replacing the "IATA Global Airport Monitor", a collaboration between the Airports Council International and the International Air Transport Association. Prior to this, the airport has won both the "Best Airport - Worldwide" and the "Best Airport - Asia/Pacific" awards in the 25-40 million passengers category four times consecutively from 2000 to 2003.
- "IATA Eagle Award - Airport" award from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for four years from 2001 to 2003 and 2005
- "Best Airport in the World" from the UK/Europe edition of Business Traveller for 17 consecutive times from 1988 to 2004. It was also awarded the "Best Airport in the World" from the Asia Pacific edition of the same magazine for 13 consecutive times since 1992. The German edition conferred the same award for 12 consecutive years since 1993, while the United States edition gave the award 12 times since 1991. It won the award for the first time in the Middle East edition in 2004, and again in 2005.
- The World Travel Awards [2] was organised since 1994 and considered the "Oscars" of the travel industry, it awarded the "World's Leading Airport" title to Changi in 1994, the "Asia/Pacific's Leading Airport" title in 2001 and 2002, the "World's Leading Airport Lounge" award in 2003 and the "Asia's Leading Airport" award in 2004.
- "Airport Authority in Asia/ Pacific with the most supportive approach in Travel Retail" award from the Duty Free News International and Travel Retailer International's highly prestigious "Raven Fox Awards for Travel Retail Excellence in Asia Pacific" for seven consecutive times since 1998.
- "Best Airport - Asia" by Cargonews Asia in the 2005 Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards for 19 consecutive times from 1987 to 2005.
- "Deficiency-free airport" by the International Federation of Airline Pilots Association for 24 consecutive years since 1981.
- "World's Best Airport" by the United Kingdom edition of Condé Nast Traveller in the 2004 Travel Awards, four times since 1999 except 2001.
- "Favorite Asian Airport" by the Asian edition of TIME magazine in the TIME Readers' Travel Choice Awards for four consecutive years since 2001.
- "Best International Airport" by the Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom) and the Sunday Telegraph in the Telegraph Travel Awards for six consecutive years since 1998.
- "Best International Airport" by OAG Worldwide's [3] Airline of the Year Awards for nine years from 1996 to 2003 and in 2005.
- "TTG Travel Awards" by the Travel Trade Gazette. The airport was entered into a special category called the "Hall of Fame" since 2002 for being nominated in the "Best Airport" category for more than a decade. Inaugurated in 2002, this special award is conferred every year the award ceremony is conducted and elevates the airport from the voting process. Singapore Airlines was similarly entered into the Hall of Fame for the "Best Airline" category in 2002.
Airlines
Terminal 1
Terminal 2
Low cost terminal (2006)
- Tiger Airways (Will move from Terminal 1 to the low cost terminal in 2006)
New airlines in 2005/2006
- Jet Airways (15 April 2005)
- Merpati Nusantara Airlines (30 April 2005)
- Royal Khmer Airlines 5 May2005 (4 weekly)
- Air Sahara (11 May) (2005)
- Pakistan International Airlines (28 June 2005)
- Air India Express (2005) (Flying together with sister airline Air India to Changi)
- Adam Air
- Star Air (June 2005)
- Etihad Airways
- Hainan Airlines
- Lao Airlines (2005)
- Phuket Air
- Shenzhen Airlines
Previous users
- Aeroflot (stopped flights due to poor load)
- Air Macau
- Alitalia (now codeshares flights with Air France)
- Ansett Australia (due to bankruptcy and liquidation)
- Cebu Pacific Air (from 6 November 2002 to January 2003) (due to poor load)
- Evergreen International Airlines (from 12 April 2000)
- Egypt Air (now codeshares flights with Singapore Airlines)
- First Cambodia Airlines (terminated on 25 February 2004 due to financial problems)
- Jatayu Airlines (Indonesia)
- Kuwait Airways (flying non-stop to Jakarta instead of via Singapore)
- Lauda Air (relaunched as Austrian Airlines)
- PT. Bouraq Indonesia Airlines (Terminated flights since March, continuing operations to Changi through codeshare with Silkair)
- Riau Airlines (Indonesia)
- Swissair (ceased operations on 31 March 2002 and relaunced as Swiss International Airlines)
Notes
- AWAir planned to commence flights from 19 January 2005, but was forced to abandon plans to fly to Singapore at the last minute due to administrative issues.
Infrastructure, facilities & services
Runways
The airport currently has two parallel runways, 02L/20R and 02C/20C. A new parallel runway 02R/20L was built 1.8 km to the east of 02C/20C, currently used only for Republic of Singapore Air Force aircraft as part of Changi Airbase (East). The new runway is expected to be extended and eventually be turned into a third runway for the airport in its future expansion plans.
Ground handlers
- Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS)
- Changi International Airport Services (CIAS)
- Swissport Operations commenced on 2 March 2005 when CAAS issued a third ground handling license to foster a more competitive market. Its ground handling licence is valid for 10 years, and it offers passenger handling services (eg. check-in), apron handling services (eg. baggage loading /unloading) and cargo handling services. Presently its only customer in Changi is Swiss International Airlines.
Terminals
- Singapore Changi Airport has two terminals connected by a people mover system, with a third terminal currently under construction and due for completion in 2008. Another terminal for low cost carriers is due for completion in 2006.
- On Tuesday August 16 2005, Changi Airport unveiled the first of eleven specially-built gates capable of handling the giant Airbus A380 aircraft.
Costing some S$15 million, the gates or 'fingers' enable passengers to get on the upper cabin of the new 555-seater aircraft directly from the gate holdrooms. The holdrooms themselves have been enlarged and appointed to cater for the larger number of passengers flying the A380s. Besides the 11 new gates at Terminal 1 and 2, there will eight more A380-capable gates at the new Terminal 3, ready in 2008. Singapore Airlines will be the launch customer for the giant aircraft. It has placed an order worth up to US$8.6 billion for 10 planes, with an option for 15 more. In all, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which operates Changi Airport, is spending $60 million in upgrading its terminal buildings and airport infrastructure ahead of the arrival of the first A380 late next year. At the terminal buildings, besides enlarged gate holdrooms and new fingers, the airport is also extending the baggage belt carousels at the A380 gates to 90 metres (from 70 metres currently). The airport does not expect embarking and disembarking passengers and baggage from the A380 to take any more time than it does for the largest Boeing 747-400s, which carry just over 400 passengers.
Terminal facilities
In addition to a wide array of duty free shops and eating outlets, Changi Airport has six open air garden areas. Open to customers of the airport, each garden represents a different group of plants: cactus, bamboo, heliconia, sunflower, fern, and orchid. Changi Airport also has numerous business centres located throughout the airport.
Inter-terminal transportation services
SkyTrain
SkyTrain services are available at the SkyTrain stations located at the departure halls of both airport terminals. The SkyTrain is currently being upgraded to conform to the latest standards, incorporating the most advanced technological features in its new fleet of vehicles and expanded to serve the new Terminal 3 due to open in 2008.
- Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 & vice versa
- Free
- 0600 to 0130 daily
Land transportation services
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
The airport is connected to the Mass Rapid Transit network, with a station located underground between Terminal 2 & the future Terminal 3.
- Changi Airport (CG2) to City Hall (EW13) via a cross platform transfer at Tanah Merah (EW4)
- S$1.40 on a standard ticket | S$1.39 on an adult EZ-Link card
- 26 minutes (excluding waiting & transfer times)
Public bus
Bus services are available at the bus terminals located at the basement of both airport terminals.
- Service 24 | To Ang Mo Kio via Bedok, Geylang & Serangoon
- Service 27 | To Hougang via Tampines & Sengkang
- Service 34 | To Punggol via Tampines (effective 31 July 2005)
- Service 36 | To Tomlinson Road via Marine Parade, Marina Centre & Orchard Road
- Service 53 | To Bishan via Pasir Ris, Hougang & Serangoon
- Service 858 | To Woodlands via Yishun & Sembawang
Taxi
Taxi stands are located within the arrival halls of both terminals.
- Changi Airport to any destination in Singapore
- Fare shown on meter + S$5.00 surcharge (Fri-Sun, 1700 to midnight) for every trip leaving the airport
- Fare shown on meter + S$3.00 surcharge (all other times) for every trip leaving the airport
Limousine taxi
Limousine taxi services are readily available at the limousine taxi counters located at the arrival halls of both airport terminals.
- Changi Airport to any destination in Singapore
- S$35.00 + surcharges (if applicable)
Airport shuttle
A 6-seater MaxiCab is used for this 2-way service which goes to anywhere within the Central Business District and any hotel in Singapore, excluding hotels in Changi Village and Sentosa Island. Booking is made at the counters in the arrival hall and the fare paid in cash to the driver.
- S$7.00 - Adult
- S$5.00 - Child
- Leaves every 30 minutes from 0600 to 1800
- Leaves every 15 minutes from 1815 to midnight
- Leaves every 30 minutes from 0030 to 0200
Car rental
Car rental services are provided at the car rental counters located at Terminal 2.
See also
- Singapore Changi Airport passenger traffic by airline
- Singapore Changi Airport passenger traffic by destination