THE average weekly passenger traffic at Changi Airport has recovered to above 60 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels as at the first week of September, more than four months since Singapore’s border reopening.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Oct 3), Transport Minister S Iswaran told the House that the number of flights also reached nearly two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels in the same period.

The number of flights that airlines have filed to operate at Changi Airport by year is more than 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

“We expect this to increase further as airlines respond to demand from travellers, following the recent border easing announcements by key travel markets such as Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan,” said the minister.

In response to a question from Member of Parliament Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) on how the authorities derive their projections, Iswaran said this is based on how source markets are reopening as well the flight path applications submitted by airlines.

While Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan have all announced plans to reopen, Iswaran alluded to a “major uncertainty” related to when China reopens its borders.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

“China is a significant source for us. Pre-Covid-19, China would have accounted for about 20 per cent of our tourism and visitor arrivals, so I think that is a major uncertainty as well that we will have to watch out for,” he said.

Alongside a reopening of airport terminals, Iswaran said, there has also been a ramp-up in manpower to handle the increase in flights.

The pandemic shaved off about a third of the sector’s 35,000-strong workforce; and at the end of last year, about 25,000 workers were employed.

Iswaran said the air transport sector hired about 4,000 people in the first half of the year, bringing its workforce back to about 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

He also reiterated the authorities’ plans to recruit another 4,000 workers by the end of the year, which he said would return the workforce to 90 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

With digitalisation and sustainability now key drivers for the aviation industry, Iswaran said these will also be an important area of focus for new talent.

“We will need specific skill sets, so we either have to retrain those who are already in the industry, and that is already happening as we speak, but at the same time, we also may need specific types of talent to come on board to augment what we already have,” he said.