SINGAPORE – If there is any airport in the world that I personally would travel to just hang out in the airport it would definitely be the Changi Airport in Singapore. Now one may ask why this is and let me explain it is one of the most entertaining air ports in the world. But that is not what this article is about. It’s about the efficiency of the airport.
Most airports ae usually a travellers’ nightmare these days as travel restrictions are being lifted. Now most travellers are ok for minor conveniences because everyone just wants to go on holiday and just live their best life. But when the minor inconvenience turns in to a major nuisance then lines are going to be drawn.
But yet again Singapore is going out of its way to make sure travellers coming in from all parts of the world will have a smoother transition at the Changi Airport. Singapore’s Changi Airport has managed to avoid the long lines and baggage handling problems that have been problems that of Europe, North America and Australia have faced and this was done through tight coordination of capacity increases with airlines and suppliers, an executive said.
The airport reached 56 per cent of its 2019 passenger numbers in August and the government has forecast the number of flights will reach 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.
Jayson Goh, Changi Airport Group’s Managing Director of airport operations, said it was holding regular meetings with airlines and key suppliers like baggage handling, cleaning and catering companies to ensure that flight increases could be accommodated without affecting service levels.
That has sometimes resulted in measures like changing flight times rather than stopping plans to add services, he said in an interview on.
“You can say okay, this hour is really a peak. Can I still fly but I fly two hours earlier or two hours later so that you don’t try to clash with a peak?”
They have added another 4,000 staff since Singapore reopened its borders and another 6,000 are being recruited, some from overseas, Goh said.
Subhas Menon, Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said Singapore had benefited from its hub status as travel demand returned but many non-stop flights between destinations had not yet been restored.
“Singapore being an international hub, they can capitalise on the through traffic that is coming from everywhere,” he said.
