While Mr Chow Kok Fong - who goes on leave from today - told The Straits Times he had no immediate plans, industry watchers said he would be much sought after by talent-hungry foreign airports.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which runs Changi Airport, recently told reporters that competition in the fast-growing airport sector is fierce.

'It's no secret that they - airports in the Middle East, India and China - are taking our staff,' he said. 'It's warfare.'

At 6 per cent to 7 per cent, the annual attrition rate is 'not alarming', said a CAAS spokesman, pointing out that it is below the 8 per cent average for statutory boards.

But experts say the brain drain is worrying because many who leave are mid-level to senior staff with invaluable first-hand experience at running one of the best-managed airports in the world.

Among those who have left in the last two years are Mr Benedict Oon, former director of engineering, and Mr James Tong, who was the No. 2 man in airport retail.

Insiders said some CAAS staff have moved to China to help Beijing kick off operations at a new terminal - the biggest in the world - which opened in February.

Headhunters from India have also landed at Changi, recruiting for infrastructure giant GMR Group, which is leading the consortium tasked with building and running new airports in New Delhi and Hyderabad.

For those who leave Changi, the benefits can be enormous.

In the booming Middle East, for example, airports have been known to offer double or even triple the money staff make in Singapore.

Mr Liew said: 'Airports all over are building up. There is an overdose of airports in the Middle East, for example...and big airports have a requirement for talent and staff.'

Changi is, to some extent, a victim of its own success, said Mr Derek Sadubin, chief executive officer of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a Sydney-based aviation think-tank.

'Changi is one of the highest-profile and well-regarded airport operators in the world, so its staff are naturally an attractive proposition for airports in the Middle East and elsewhere that are expanding.'

Apart from staff poachers, another challenge for Changi is a slower growth rate in relation to its competitors.

In the first half of the year, the airport handled 18.7 million travellers, a 5.4 per cent increase from a year earlier.

During the same time, traffic at Hong Kong's airport grew 7.3 per cent to hit 24.4 million passengers.

Dubai's airport - riding on the Middle Eastern boom - handled 18.5 million passengers, a growth of 13.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the CAAS is preparing for a shake-up next year that will split the statutory board into two separate entities - one to run the airport, and the other to take care of regulatory functions like pilot licensing.

To be 100 per cent owned by the Government, the new company that will run the airport will have the freedom to operate as a corporation, which means having the ability to set its own pay, for example.

To gear up for the transition, the CAAS is in an active recruitment mode, said the spokesman.

This is not just to make up for staff losses but also to boost headcount, because some functions will need to be duplicated across the two companies.

Last year, for example, staff numbers were up by more than 100 to about 1,700, she said.

karam@sph.com.sg