SINGAPORE, 7 April 2020 – Changi Airport Group announced Monday it is consolidating terminal operations at Singapore’s gateway airport in response to a steep decline in passenger traffic.
Saying air travel demand is not likely to return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the near term it will close operations at Terminal 2 for 18 months starting 1 May.
“ This move will enable CAG and its airport partners to save on running costs such as utilities and cleaning as well as to optimise resources across the airport’s terminals to better match the low travel demand and airline flight operations,” CAG said in the statement.
Airlines based in Terminal 2 will be relocated to the remaining terminals[1]. This suspension of operations will allow T2 expansion work to accelerate with the expected completion date, currently scheduled for 2024, brought forward possibly by up to a year. CAG is in discussion with airport partners and concessionaires in T2 regarding options available to them.
Due to the drop in flights at Terminal 4 (T4), operations at the terminal have been scaled down considerably focused on just a few aircraft boarding gates while shops close early after the last flight of the day.
If the remaining airlines at T4 choose to suspend or adjust their flight schedules, CAG will also consider suspending operations at T4 temporarily but with the objective of restarting operations quickly when airlines confirm a resumption of flights.
Supporting airport partners
The stores and restaurants at Changi Airport have been significantly impacted by the reduced air passenger traffic and weakened consumer demand. CAG has been in discussion with the concessionaires on assistance measures based on their business circumstance.
For instance, CAG has waived all rentals for concessions operating in T4 for two months from 24 March given the very low passenger traffic in the terminal.
CAG’s executive vice president of airport management, Tan Lye Teck said: “With airlines suspending flights in response to the sharply reduced travel demand, the consolidation efforts seek to help our airport partners during this difficult time.
While the scale of our operations will be reduced in the near term, Changi Airport remains open to serve the airfreight and passenger flights that continue to operate.
Even as our airport capacity is being optimised for the current situation, we will have the flexibility, and we stand ready to ramp up operations quickly once the recovery takes place.”
[1]Details of airlines’ relocation to other terminals will be published on the Changi Airport website closer to 1 May.
