Singapore (Commonwealth Union)_ The winners of this year’s Routes Asia Awards were revealed during the Routes Asia Networking Evening, which was hosted in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The event was organized to honor the efforts of the Asia community in restoring global air connectivity. The awards honor the marketing strategies and contributions in the aviation sector that promote new and existing air services, along with quality and innovation within the community of route development.
The following is the complete list of winning companies. This year’s Routes Awards airport size categories were based on 2022 passenger numbers. The Overall Winner is Singapore Changi Airport. Under the 5 Million Passengers Category, Mactan-Cebu International Airport won the title. Under the 5-10 Million Passengers Category, Perth Airport became the champion. Under the Over 10 Million Passengers Category, Singapore’s Changi Airport became the winner. Under the Destination Category, the Philippine Tourism Authority won the award. Under the Airline Category, AirAsia Group bagged the title.
Singapore Changi Airport has been named this year’s Routes Awards Overall Winner. In 2022, the airport’s passenger traffic climbed to 32.2 million passenger movements, an increase from just 3.1 million in 2021. It has regained 47% of its passenger volume from 2019 and is presently the world’s seventh busiest international airport. Singapore Changi Airport has received eleven new passenger carriers in the past two years. They are Aircalin, Air Premia, Bamboo Airways, Cambodia Airways, Citilink, Gulf Air, Hong Kong Express, Starlux Airlines, Thai VietJet, T’Way Air, and ZIPAIR.
Upon receiving the award, Changi Airport Group’s General Manager of Market Development, Alicia Chen, expressed pride over the achievement. She said, “We would like to express our deepest appreciation to our airline partners who have collaborated closely with every one of us at Changi Airport, and together, we have recovered our passenger traffic steadily since our full reopening in April 2022. Changi Airport is committed to grow our connectivity through restoring flights and capacity, expanding to new markets and developing new passenger segments with our family of airlines. We will continue to seek innovative ways of marketing our air hub and look forward to more exciting years ahead with our invaluable partners.”
Under the 5 Million Passenger Category, Mactan-Cebu International Airport became the champion. GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) has always used a two-pronged strategy to route development: first is airline marketing to produce supply, and the second is destination marketing to assure the long-term viability of its airline partners’ presence and meet the demand for air services.
Under the 5-10 Million Passenger Category, Perth Airport won the title. The airport’s VFR and leisure markets have revived substantially. As a result of the successful stakeholder involvement and marketing strategy, the underlying strength of Western Australia’s economy, the high tendency of Western Australians to travel, and Perth’s location as Australia’s western gateway, it has delivered outstanding recovery outcomes.
Under the Destination Category, the Philippine Department of Tourism was recognized as the category’s winner. It has persisted in its efforts to form partnerships with airports and airlines in order to revive abandoned routes and obtain new air services. It has accomplished this through local and international marketing initiatives, regional travel exchanges and business-to-business discussions, collaborative campaigns, overseas roadshows, and familiarization visits for travel agencies and the media.
AirAsia Group was the recipient of the Airline Award. The company is the leading low-cost airline in Asia and provides broad regional connectivity. With the progressive relaxation of travel restrictions and the recovery of freight and cargo operations, AirAsia Aviation Group anticipates regaining its full fleet and 2019 numbers by 2023 in all of its important markets and continuing its expansion and growth.
