Changi Airport Group is to knock-down its budget terminal later this year, just six years after it opened and despite the fact its operating at around two-thirds of capacity. The terminal is to make way for a new Terminal 4 that will be dedicated to the low-cost sector.
The decision is a response the rapid growth of low-cost and hybrid carriers, and the advent of the long-haul low-cost model – which isn\\\’t served by the current facility.
The new terninal, when it opens in 2017, will have a capacity of 16 million, far in excess of the seven million capacity of the current facility, which can handle 7 million, and catered for 4.6 million last year.
Terminal 4 will be designed to enable efficient passenger processing and quick turnaround of aircraft, and will not have aerobridges. “Unlike the present Budget Terminal, Terminal 4 will have a wide choice of retail and food & beverage offerings as well as passenger amenities that will better serve the needs of travellers,” says Changi Airport Group.
Current Budget Terminal airlines Berjaya Air, Cebu Pacific, Firefly, South East Asian Airlines and Tiger Airways will move to Terminal 2 once the Budget Terminal closes in September.
Over the past decade, passenger traffic at Changi Airport has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 5.2%. In 2011, Changi handled a total of 46.5 million passenger movements, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.
