Passenger traffic at Changi Airport in 2024 nears pre-pandemic level; China reclaims top market status
Singapore Tourism Board notes nearly 2.9 million arrivals in Singapore from China for the year to November 2024, up 134.1% year on year
ABOUT 67.7 million passenger movements were recorded at Changi Airport in 2024, less than 1 per cent below the pre-pandemic level of 68.3 million, even as mainland China reclaimed its top market status.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 22) that year on year (yoy), total passenger traffic was 14.8 per cent higher than in 2023.
North Asia recorded a rise of 40 per cent in passenger traffic, as mainland China, being Changi’s top source market, almost doubled 2023’s level and surpassed the pre-pandemic level by 6 per cent.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data also showed that China was the top source of tourists: There were nearly 2.9 million arrivals to Singapore for the year to November 2024, up 134.1 per cent yoy. The December figures have not been published.
This was achieved after a 30-day mutual visa-free arrangement between Singapore and China was rolled out from early 2024 to capitalise on “revenge travel” from the North Asian country, whose international borders were re-opened only in 2023 in a bid to control the pandemic.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Thailand trailed behind mainland China in terms of passenger movements, CAG data showed.
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Japan and Hong Kong posted increases of over 20 per cent.
The most popular routes were Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali and Hong Kong.
OAG Aviation ranked Changi Airport as the fourth-busiest international airport in 2024 in terms of airline seat capacity, according to the figures released by the global travel data provider on Jan 15. In 2023, the airport was the world’s fifth-busiest by seat capacity.
The airport had a total international seat capacity of 41.5 million seats in 2024, up 15 per cent from 36.1 million in 2023. These rankings were compiled using information on scheduled airline seats on international flights.
CAG said on Wednesday that air freight throughput totalled nearly 2 million tonnes in 2024, up 14.6 per cent yoy, but was still 1 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic level.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post on Wednesday: “Looking ahead, we are confident that Changi will continue this strong growth momentum and traffic volumes will exceed pre-Covid levels in 2025.”
The top air cargo markets in 2024 were mainland China, Australia, the United States, Hong Kong and India. Major improvements in cargo flows between Singapore and mainland China, as well as the US, contributed to higher flows across exports, imports and transhipments.
Robust demand for cross-border e-commerce shipments, the recovery of Singapore’s exports and re-exports, and the modal shift from ocean to air in the wake of maritime disruptions also drove the increase in cargo flows.
Over the year, Changi Airport added 11 passenger city links, eight passenger airlines, two freighter airlines and two freighter city links.
As at January, Changi Airport was linked to 163 cities by 100 airlines over 7,400 weekly scheduled flights.
There will, CAG said, be flights to new destinations such as Labuan Bajo in Indonesia and Vienna in Austria this year.
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