Traffic at Changi Airport crosses 5m mark in June

PASSENGER traffic at Singapore’s Changi Airport, ranked the best in the world, surged to near pre-pandemic levels in June, amid demand for summer travel.

The airport handled 5.12 million passengers that month, crossing the five million mark for the first time since January 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, said Changi Airport Group in a statement. The figure, amounting to 88 per cent of passenger traffic in June 2019, shows that the city-state is well on its way to renewing international ties. 

Lim Ching Kiat, executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development, said in the statement: “Changi has regained more than 80 per cent of its pre-Covid city links.” The airport is working to build ties to more points in China and South-east Asia in the second half of the year.

The rebound comes during the peak summer-vacation period, as travellers largely buck worries about inflation and a global economic slowdown. It is a similar story in the US, where passenger counts have largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels as consumers dip into their savings for travel.

The top markets for the South-east Asian hub in the second quarter were Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Passenger traffic to and from North-east Asia rose to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in June, up from about 50 per cent in January. 

The momentum may pick up further as the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix kicks off in September, and a string of high-profile, sold-out concerts featuring performers such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay take place early next year. BLOOMBERG