2.5m passengers handled by Changi Airport in May, higher than in April
Tay Peck Gek
PASSENGER traffic at Changi Airport continued to rise in May and reached nearly 2.5 million, up from about 1.9 million in April, as the aviation hub continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Figures released by Changi Airport Group on Tuesday (Jun 21) also showed that passenger numbers last month were 14 times that of the corresponding month in 2021.
This brings the number of passengers that moved through the air hub to nearly 7 million for the first 5 months — about a 10th of pre-pandemic levels, but exceeding the total of 3.1 million for the whole of 2021.
Some 17,100 commercial flights were recorded at the airport in May, compared to 15,100 in April and nearly double that of May 2021. About 68,400 flights were recorded in the first 5 months this year, about 20 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) last week reported that it logged the highest passenger traffic and load factor in May, since the pandemic hit in early 2020. The national carrier, with budget arm Scoot, together flew a total of 1.7 million passengers, 17.4 per cent more than that in April, when Singapore dropped most of its border requirements for vaccinated travellers.
To handle higher passenger numbers — expected to rise further from end-October, when the northern winter season begins — Changi Airport went on a recruitment drive in May to hire some 6,600 workers; it will operate all the terminals, including reopening the idled Terminal 4.
The construction of Terminal 5, put on the back burner in the throes of the pandemic, will begin in 2 to 3 years for it to be ready by the mid-2030s.
Meanwhile, 153,000 tonnes of cargo moved through the airport in May, said Changi Airport Group’s website. While this was marginally higher than the 141,000 tonnes handled in April, it was 3.9 per cent lower than that in May 2021.
