Changi Airport to close T4 from May 16 as part of further consolidation

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

This is in view of the small number of flights still operating in the terminals, Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced on Tuesday. The move will allow CAG and its airport partners to continue saving on running costs such as utilities and cleaning.

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 MileLion website, Cathay - which operates out of T4 - already shifted its operations on a temporary basis to T1 in April.

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.

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."

Meanwhile, Changi will continue to play its part, bringing essential supplies to Singapore and mounting repatriation flights, he added.

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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.

The upcoming closure of T4 comes barely two weeks after Changi suspended operations at Terminal 2 on May 1. The move is expected to last 18 months amid the novel coronavirus pandemic which has hit the global travel industry hard.