Changi Airport will reopen T1, T3 to public from Sept 1

Changi Airport will reopen Terminals 1 and 3 to the public from next Wednesday, following a 3½-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Extra precautions are now in place to segregate arriving travellers from the public, with traveller numbers expected to increase as Singapore gradually eases its border restrictions.

Only arriving passengers and those providing professional meet-and-greet services will be allowed in the arrival halls, with barriers set up to cordon off these areas from the general public.

The air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems at the terminals have been improved, and a dedicated rest and dining area has been set up for airport staff, to minimise their interaction with the public.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced the reopening yesterday.

CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan said the authority is satisfied with the precautions put in place by the airport community.

"As Singapore takes cautious steps to further reopen our borders, we need to ensure that Changi Airport remains a safe airport for travellers coming in and transiting through," he said.

CAAS will continue to review safety protocols at the airport based on the Covid-19 situation, he said.

Terminals 2 and 4 remain closed, however. Both have been closed since May last year amid a drastic fall in passenger numbers due to the pandemic. There are no immediate plans to reopen either terminal, with T2 undergoing planned upgrading works.

T1, T3 and Jewel Changi Airport were closed in May after a Covid-19 cluster was detected in T3. The cluster grew to 108 cases, 43 of whom were airport workers.

While Jewel Changi Airport reopened on June 14, about a month after its closure, T1 and T3 remained closed to the public so that workers could get used to new safety procedures.

CAAS and CAG said yesterday that restricted use of the arrival halls complements the zonal segregation in the transit areas put in place at the airport since May.

They said that only representatives providing professional meet-and-greet services, such as company agents and those from hotels, will be allowed to receive arriving passengers from low-risk countries and regions in the halls.

These representatives have to present the passenger's flight itinerary to gain entry, and only one representative is allowed to pick up each arriving passenger group.

Other passengers from low-risk places can arrange their own transport or be picked up by someone at the arrival pick-up point. They can also opt for taxi services.

The places currently considered to be at low risk for Covid-19 infections are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, the Chinese mainland, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Passengers from places outside of this list will be directly transported to stay-home notice facilities and will not be able to leave via the arrival hall.

On installing hospital-grade filters and ultraviolet-C sanitisation systems in the air-conditioning systems at the airport, CAAS and CAG said this was done in the light of the threat posed by more transmissible Covid-19 variants.

CAG has also set up portable air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air filters at the Kopitiam foodcourt in T3 that was linked to several Covid-19 cases in May.

The group has also converted part of the T3 arrival hall into a dedicated rest area for airport staff.

As a result, the food and beverage stores and retail outlets located in that area will be temporarily closed to the public.

The airport has also set up a segregated dining area for staff at Basement 2 of T3 in a space adjacent to the Kopitiam foodcourt.

CAG chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said the airport will continue to work with the authorities and its partners to put in place safety measures to guard against Covid-19.