Changi Airport handled 4.33 million passengers in January, an increase of 1.9 per cent from the same month last year.

The smaller than usual year-on-year growth, which usually averages about 4 to 5 per cent, is due in part to Chinese New Year falling in January last year. This boosted traffic that month.

This year, the festival was in February, said Changi Airport Group, which released its latest numbers on Wednesday.

The cargo business did better with total freight volumes growing by 2.5 per cent to 140,300 tonnes.