S Iswaran on Changi Airport's recovery

As of the first week of July, weekly passenger traffic at Changi Airport recovered to about 55 per cent of the level of 2019. This came on the back of weekly passenger services by airlines recovering to more than 50 per cent of pre-COVID levels. Changi Airport is connected to 108 cities by passenger flights as of July, which is more than 65 per cent of the number of cities it was connected to before the pandemic. Transport Minister S Iswaran gave this update in reply to MPs' questions in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 2). He said the pattern of recovery across the world has been uneven, as air hubs which reopened their borders earlier have seen a faster recovery. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Changi is leading the recovery and is ahead in international passenger traffic and city links, he said. Mr Iswaran said demand for air travel remains fundamentally strong and he expects the recovery of Changi to continue and to gather pace when key markets in Northeast Asia fully reopen their borders. To ensure that Changi will be ready to manage the anticipated traveller flows, Terminal 4 will reopen from Sep 13, while departure operations in the southern wing of Terminal 2 will start from October. Mr Iswaran said this will enable the airport to handle about 70 million passengers per annum, which represents about 80 per cent of Changi's pre-COVID capacity. He added that aviation stakeholders are also working hard to build up their manpower and restore the traveller experience that Changi is renowned for.