Surprise treats for travellers as T2 departure hall reopens

Travellers who showed up at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on Tuesday were in for a little surprise.

Bleary-eyed and ready to take off, they streamed into the departure hall at 5am to be greeted by a blue, white and gold balloon arch.

Pop-up stores were handing out free coffee and snacks, and the Changi Airport airplane mascot called Max was teasing children by playfully taking their bags when they were not looking.

The first day of operations for Changi Airport's revamped T2 departure hall was an occasion for celebration. With its opening, the final piece of the puzzle for Singapore's reopening strategy this year has fallen into place.

For the first time since T2 and Terminal 4 operations were suspended in May 2020 amid plummeting passenger numbers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all four terminals are now open to travellers.

Changi's handling capacity has also returned to about 70 million passengers a year, on a par with the number of passengers handled before the pandemic.

T4 reopened in September and arrival operations at T2 resumed in May, in anticipation of a surge in year-end passenger numbers.

They are now expected to exceed the authorities' forecast, given the recent relaxing of border controls in key Asian markets like Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

A total of 17 Singapore Airlines (SIA) flights were scheduled to leave T2 on Tuesday to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Flights to the rest of SIA's South-east Asia destinations are due to begin at T2 on Thursday. Joining SIA from next Tuesday are Air India and Air India Express flights.

Ms Jacqueline Low, 57, was one of the first passengers at T2 on Tuesday, travelling with three friends to Bangkok.

She said its opening signalled a resumption of more normal travel.

"The ticket prices are still up, which was why we got a cheaper flight so early in the morning, but we are very happy to be able to fly again," she said.

Business consultant Gururaja, who goes by one name, said he was excited to have a look at the shops in the transit area.

The 39-year-old work pass holder, who travels to Bangkok frequently and was with his wife and two daughters, said: "Everything looks really good. I knew it was T2's first day of reopening today and so far, what I see adds to my flying experience."

Hong Kong resident Chen Lim, 40, said the relative quiet of the first day at T2 made travelling more pleasant.

A total of 25 shops at T2, including Lotte Duty Free and Starbucks, were open on Tuesday.

With these, half of T2 is up and running. The revamp and renovation in the northern wing will continue, and are scheduled to finish by 2024. This should boost T2's handling capacity from 23 million passengers a year to 28 million passengers annually.

Mr Tan Lye Teck, Changi Airport Group's executive vice-president of airport management, said: "Changi has been through a lot over the past two-plus years and we are happy to welcome more passengers back.

"We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the whole airport community for working together with us on this journey, and for their resilience and contributions to Changi."

On Tuesday, ground handler Sats began serving meals from its Inflight Catering Centre 1 for the first time in over two years, as it gears up to meet increased demand from the accelerating travel recovery.

The catering centre is one of two in-flight catering facilities that Sats operates in Singapore; together, they cater to more than 80 per cent of flights at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport.

In-flight meals and flights handled by Sats crossed 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in June. The handler wants to increase production capacity by 20 per cent by 2025, which translates to 53 million in-flight meals a year.