SINGAPORE \u2013 Changi Airport handled about 70 million passengers in 2025, with volumes surpassing pre-Covid-19 levels, said Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Jan 5. <\/p>\n
This means passenger numbers at the airport reached an all-time high in 2025, eclipsing the previous record of 68.3 million passengers in 2019, before the pandemic grounded planes and ravaged air travel. <\/p>\n
In 2024, Changi Airport handled 67.7 million passengers. <\/p>\n
The strong post-pandemic recovery for global aviation shows the Government made the right decision to go ahead with plans to build Changi Airport Terminal 5, paused during the pandemic, Mr Siow said at the launch of a new exhibition on the future mega terminal. <\/p>\n
The acting minister added that operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) will launch the tender for T5\u2019s superstructure \u2013 the section of the terminal built above ground \u2013 in the next few weeks. <\/p>\n Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow (centre) and Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling (third from right) viewing a scale model of Changi Airport Terminal 5 on Jan 5.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Noting that the decision to build T5 was one of confidence in Singapore\u2019s future and conviction in the nation\u2019s ability to secure its place in a competitive world, he said this confidence was shaken when global aviation demand collapsed during the pandemic. <\/p>\n \u201cFor a moment, we were not sure what the future of aviation would hold. And we reconsidered deeply whether to continue with T5,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n But the Government decided to go ahead, added Mr Siow, and the future now looks bright \u2013 global air traffic is expected to double by 2050, with the Asia-Pacific region leading this growth. <\/p>\n With T5 representing the future of aviation for Singapore, it has been designed to be technology-intensive, empowered by automation and artificial intelligence (AI), he said.<\/p>\n For example, autonomous vehicles and robotics are already being tested for labour-intensive processes, such as baggage and cargo handling.<\/p>\n Mr Siow added that AI can be used to improve flight planning and passenger services, as well as respond quickly to disruptions to airport operations, such as changing weather conditions.<\/p>\n Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow and Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling touring the Cool Tech Warm Touch zone of the T5 In The Making exhibition.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The new mega terminal \u2013 scheduled to open in the mid-2030s \u2013 will show the way for aviation sustainability, as it will promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel and be fully electrified, he said. <\/p>\n It has been designed to put the customer first, said Mr Siow, with ideas from passengers, airlines and airport tenants being incorporated into the layout of lounges and the design of retail spaces. <\/p>\n For instance, passengers will be able to have seamless journeys from immigration to boarding, with personalised recommendations for dining, retail and transit along the way. <\/p>\n Mr Siow noted that although T5 is a bigger airport terminal, its design reduces walking time, and the result is that transit passengers can make their connections more quickly.<\/p>\n Passengers are not the only group who will stand to gain. <\/p>\n More new jobs will be available in the aviation sector in the fields of data science, systems operations and sustainability \u2013 areas that will appeal to young Singaporeans, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is imperative that the aerospace or aviation sector continues to attract its share of talent and that we work closely with the institutes of higher learning to make sure that the skills of our workforce remain relevant and future-ready,\u201d added Mr Siow. <\/p>\n The <\/p>\n T5 In The Making exhibition<\/p>\n <\/a>, which will be held at Terminal 3\u2019s arrival hall from Jan 6 to March, will bring the story of Changi Airport and Singapore to life, said Mr Siow.<\/p>\n Organised by the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and CAG, the exhibition will give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the vision, planning and design of the terminal.<\/p>\n Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow and Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling looking at a 2.7m-tall globe in the Another Bold Singapore Chapter zone, part of the T5 In The Making exhibition.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Recounting how the nation\u2019s founding leaders decided to move the airport from Paya Lebar to Changi in 1981, Mr Siow said no expansion of Paya Lebar Airport could have met the needs of international air traffic.<\/p>\n Paya Lebar Airport\u2019s capacity was then only eight million a year, whereas Changi Airport already handles around 70 million passengers yearly. <\/p>\n T5 will raise Changi Airport\u2019s passenger capacity by more than 55 per cent each year, from the current 90 million to 140 million. <\/p>\n These panels chart the evolution of Changi\u2019s coastline through decades of land reclamation that paved the way for major airport developments.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Mr Siow said that over the decades, Changi Airport has fulfilled its potential and gone beyond that.<\/p>\n With the addition of new terminals, refurbishment of existing ones and building of retail and entertainment complex Jewel Changi Airport, he has \u201cno doubt that the world is watching to see what T5 represents for the future of aviation\u201d. <\/p>\n At a media tour of the exhibition on Jan 2, Mr Ong Chee Chiau, managing director of Changi East at CAG, told reporters that the airport operator will call tenders for the construction of the main T5 building \u201cover the next year or so\u201d.<\/p>\n He added that the operator is in the midst of calling tenders for the terminal\u2019s baggage-handling system and automated people-mover system.<\/p>\n Passengers at T5 can expect to reach Terminal 2 in four minutes via <\/p>\n the airport\u2019s new underground link<\/p>\n <\/a>. The people-mover system \u2013 similar to the existing Skytrain, which serves Terminals 1, 2 and 3 \u2013 will operate at a frequency of four to eight minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>
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