SINGAPORE (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – Changi Airport’s passenger traffic surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in February, reaching 104.3 per cent of the figures recorded in February 2019.
According to the Changi Airport Group (CAG) on March 13, there were 5.35 million passenger movements in February 2024.
The airport experienced its busiest day of the month on February 18, which fell on the third Sunday during the Chinese New Year celebrations, with 203,000 passengers passing through its terminals.
This milestone follows a year of steady recovery in 2023 when the airport returned to 86 per cent of its pre-pandemic annual traffic levels, accommodating 58.9 million passengers.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport recorded 68.3 million passenger movements.
Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development, expressed optimism in January 2024, stating that the airport operator aims to achieve a full recovery to pre-pandemic connectivity and traffic levels.
As at February, 93 airlines operate more than 6,900 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, which link Singapore to over 150 cities.
Mayur Patel, head of Asia at global travel data provider OAG Aviation, attributed Changi’s growth in February to busy traffic across the wider region due to the leap year effect with an additional day’s worth of traffic, the Chinese New Year holidays and, most importantly, the introduction of a visa waiver for mainland Chinese travellers.
Since Febuary 9, citizens of Singapore and China can enter each other’s country without a visa, for a stay of up to 30 days.
Patel added that while passenger traffic levels in February 2024 were 4.3 per cent higher than those for the same month in 2019, aircraft movements were still 3.6 per cent below 2019 levels.
Looking ahead, he predicts that the number of available seats to and from Changi Airport will average 95 per cent of 2019 levels, according to OAG data, although its passenger traffic levels will vary according to the overall macroeconomic environment and passenger demand.
Mr Patel said Thailand and Malaysia will be competing with Changi Airport for outbound Chinese traffic, given that they also offer visa waivers to Chinese travellers.
But Changi will benefit from its increased capacity in the upcoming months, as there are higher flight frequencies and new city pairs being added to the network, he said.
About 1.44 million visitors arrived in Singapore in February, with 326,970 – or almost 23 per cent – of them coming from China, according to data from the Singapore Tourism Board.
Edmund Ong, general manager of travel website operator Trip.com Singapore, said there was a 60 per cent increase in the website’s bookings from China to Singapore in February compared with January.
This signals increased interest from Chinese travellers in visiting Singapore following the new, mutual visa-free travel arrangement, he said.
Adding that this is a good sign for Singapore tourism, Mr Ong said that while visitor figures may not reach 2019 levels, tourist expenditure is likely to come close to 2019 figures.
