SINGAPORE — June 2023 marked a milestone for Changi Airport, with passenger traffic exceeding five million in a single month for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began in January 2020, according to data released by Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Thursday (20 Jul).
The airport also recorded 27,500 flights for June, reaching 88 per cent of the number of flights registered in the same month in 2019. The period from April to June saw the airport accommodate a total of 14.6 million passengers, restoring numbers to 87 per cent of the passenger traffic recorded for the same period in 2019.
In addition, the second quarter of 2023 witnessed nearly 90 per cent of the total flights compared to Q2 2019, with 81,400 flights either taking off or landing at Changi Airport. The leading traffic markets included Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
CAG has reported consistent progress in passenger traffic from North-east Asia, with a rise from approximately 50 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels in January 2023 to 75 per cent by June 2023.
Efforts by Changi Airport to increase traffic have led to new routes being introduced, such as a twice-weekly direct flight to Bhubaneswar in eastern India via Indian budget airline IndiGo, which commenced on June 3. Furthermore, Air Canada announced the re-establishment of its Vancouver-Singapore service, scheduled to restart from April 2024. This will be the only non-stop route connecting Canada and Singapore, marking the airline’s return to Changi after over three decades.
Travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic have been in place for almost three years, affecting Changi Airport’s ability to serve more than 170 cities worldwide with over 7,400 weekly flights, a record held at its 2019 peak. As of July 1, connectivity is gradually being reestablished, with 99 airlines operating over 6,300 weekly scheduled flights, connecting Singapore to 148 cities.
Changi Airport Group’s Executive Vice-President for Air Hub and Cargo Development, Mr Lim Ching Kiat, noted the steady growth in passenger traffic, stating, “We are pleased to have crossed the five million mark again in June with the mid-year holiday season. Changi has regained more than 80 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 city links, and we look forward to strengthening connectivity to more points in South-east Asia and China in the second half of the year.”
Anticipations for 2023 were set high by the Singapore Tourism Board at the start of the year, predicting international visitor arrivals to Singapore to be between 12 million and 14 million, with full recovery of tourism expected by 2024.
Visitor arrivals have been exceeding the one million mark for the fourth consecutive month, reaching 1.13 million in June and recovering from a slight dip to 1.11 million in May. Indonesia remains the main source of visitors, accounting for 217,051 visitors in June, up from 183,758 in May. The first half of 2023 has seen Singapore welcome 6.28 million visitors.
In March this year, Changi Airport was titled the world’s best airport for the 12th time at the 2023 World Airport Awards, hosted by London-based research firm Skytrax.
The airport also won best in Asia, best in the world for leisure amenities, and best in the world for airport dining at the ceremony held at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Amsterdam.
