Changi's T4 building more than 70% complete; AirAsia to move operations there

Construction of Changi Airport Terminal 4 on July 9, 2015. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Construction of Changi Airport Terminal 4 on July 9, 2015. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Construction of Changi Airport Terminal 4 on July 9, 2015. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Construction of Changi Airport Terminal 4 on July 9, 2015. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
An artist's impression of the driveway to the new Changi Airport Terminal 4. PHOTO: CHANGI AIRPORT GROUP

SINGAPORE - The development of Terminal 4 (T4) is progressing well with more than 70 per cent of construction of the main building complete.

When it opens in 2017, T4 will house the AirAsia group, which includes AirAsia (Malaysia), Indonesia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, as well as, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines.

Changi Airport Group revealed this at a press conference on Thursday. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific was the first to sign up last year.

The six airlines currently operate almost 800 flights a week in and out of Changi Airport and accounted for close to 7 million passengers last year.

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More carriers are expected to eventually move to T4 which is located where the former Budget Terminal was. The new terminal will be able to handle up to 16 million passengers a year, the airport said.

The migration of these six airlines will free up capacity at the three other terminals which are already operating at more than 80 per cent of their designed total capacity of 66 million passengers a year.

T4 will see a massive roll-out of fast and seamless travel (FAST) initiatives such as self-service and automated options for check-in, bag tagging, immigration clearance and aircraft boarding.

For the first time at Changi Airport, facial recognition technology will be introduced at T4.

This will eliminate the need for manual identity verification by staff so travellers can move quickly through the different processes.

Extensive trials and intensive equipment and systems testing, with volunteers playing the role of passengers, will be conducted prior to the opening of the terminal.

Mr Yam Kum Weng, CAG's executive vice-president (air hub and development), said: "With T4's emphasis on innovation and productivity.....passengers can expect passage through the various touch points to be smoother and stress-free, giving them more time to enjoy the facilities, and wide array of shopping and dining options."

AirAsia's group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes, who was at the press conference, said: "The brand new terminal has many new innovative features that will complement and enhance AirAsia's brand value to our passengers...The full rollout of FAST will allow us to further streamline processes for our passengers and enjoy gains from higher manpower productivity."

The airline currently operates out of T1.

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