Changi to suspend T4 as passenger numbers fall off the cliff in April

Singapore

CHANGI Airport will be temporarily suspending operations at Terminal 4 (T4) from May 16 in a further consolidation of terminal operations.

This comes as the airport's passenger movement numbers dived 99.5 per cent to 25,200 in April, from 5.6 million in the same month in 2019, according to air traffic statistics released by Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Tuesday.

Year-to-date passenger movements stood at 11.1 million, 49.7 per cent lower compared with 22 million in the period of January to April 2019.

T4's suspension of operations comes in view of the small number of flights still operating in the terminals. The move will allow CAG and its airport partners to continue to save running costs such as utilities and cleaning, the group said.

Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will operate at Terminal 1 (T1) and the assigned terminal for other airlines will be announced when they next operate flights at Changi. According to The Milelion website, Cathay - which operates out of T4 - shifted its operations to T1 on April 16.

T4's operations will resume when air travel demand picks up and on the requirements of airlines seeking to relaunch flights at the airport, CAG said.

The upcoming closure of T4 - which mostly caters to low-cost carriers - comes as a surprise to aviation analyst Shukor Yusof at Endau Analytics, as it was barely two weeks ago that Changi Airport closed Terminal 2.

Terminal 2 was closed on May 1 in a move expected to last 18 months amid the novel coronavirus pandemic which has hit the global travel industry hard.

Mr Shukor said: "The closure of T4 underscores the severe impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on Changi Airport. I do think there would be more challenges in coming months in terms of decline in commercial traffic until border controls are completely lifted."

The Changi air hub and its adjacent industries contribute over 5 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product. It also employs around 192,000 people.

In a Facebook post on T4's closure, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said: "These are trying times for aviation and the Changi community. Great uncertainties remain but we remain optimistic on eventual aviation recovery."

With the temporary suspension, T4's stores and restaurants will close and the shuttle bus service connecting T4 to Terminal 3 will be halted until T4's operations resume. Skytrain services in the airport have also been reduced due to low demand.

Food and beverage outlets at Changi Airport are open for takeaways, with essential services such as pharmacies continuing to serve airport staff and people in the airport's public areas, including Jewel.

"Even as terminal operations are scaled down during this period, CAG continues to work closely with its airline and airport partners and stands ready to restart operations at T4 as soon as a sufficient number of flights return to the terminal," the group said.

In April, Changi Airport handled 3,870 commercial aircraft movements, down 87.7 per cent from 31,500 a year ago. Airfreight throughput for the month stood at 96,500 tonnes, down 38.3 per cent from 160,000 tonnes a year ago.

National flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in March that it would slash capacity by 96 per cent until end-April. This resulted in the grounding of 138 SIA and SilkAir planes from their combined fleets of 147 aircraft, leaving nine operational passenger aircraft. SIA has since announced its capacity cuts will extend to June 30.