Changi's T4 to reopen on Sept 13 to ease crowding at other terminals

Changi Airport's Terminal 4 will reopen on Sept 13, with 16 airlines to relocate to the terminal progressively.

This is as demand for travel rebounds, with airport gates at the currently operating Terminals 1, 2 and 3 becoming increasingly congested.

Airlines have been demanding an increase in the number of flights in time for October, the start of the busy period for flights to and from Europe and America.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) yesterday announced the date for T4's reopening. It previously said the terminal would reopen in September.

It is set to come before the opening of another quarter of Terminal 2 in October, which means half of T2 will be operational by then.

This will return the airport's handling capacity to its pre-pandemic level of 70 million passengers per year.

"Over the next two months, CAG will conduct various operational readiness trials with the airlines and airport partners to ensure the smooth restart of operations in T4," said CAG.

"With a capacity of 16 million passengers per annum, the reopening of T4 will add to Changi Airport's capacity, ensuring that the air hub can meet the increasing demand for air travel, and support airlines' plans to launch more flights."

Opened in 2017, T4 serves several low-cost airlines, as it has 17 gates to support narrow body aircraft, suitable for smaller low-cost carriers.

Based on 2019 data, the low-cost carriers' portion of T4 traffic accounted for 66 per cent of the terminal's total seat capacity.

Of the 16 airlines relocating to T4, many will be budget airlines like AirAsia, which has traditionally anchored the terminal.

CAG said Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will begin flight operations at T4 on Sept 13, followed by the AirAsia Group on Sept 15.

Cebu Pacific, Juneyao Air, Jeju Air, Bamboo Airways and HK Express will begin operations there on Sept 20, while other airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air and Thai VietJet Air will move to T4 on Sept 22.

Jetstar Group was supposed to relocate to T4 on Oct 25, but the Australian-based group said the decision was made "unilaterally" and that it would not move until its concerns were addressed.

Mr Tan Lye Teck, CAG's executive vice-president of airport management, said the high degree of automation at T4 will help Changi Airport overcome manpower concerns, which have been an issue for airports worldwide following the fall in the number of airport workers during the trough of Covid-19.

Features include automated immigration counters which will no longer require passengers to scan their fingerprints to verify their identity and should allow passengers to walk through by simply scanning their faces.

Air travel globally has rebounded faster than many expected as Covid-19 travel restrictions eased.

Singapore had set a target of having passenger traffic hit 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. Latest figures show passenger numbers are already close to or have exceeded the target.

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia said T4's reopening is a positive development. It said: "We look forward to working closely with CAG to return to our pre-Covid-19 schedule and provide a seamless travel experience for our guests."

Mr Mayur Patel, head of Asia for aviation analysis firm OAG, said one attraction of T4 for full-fledged carriers like Cathay Pacific is that they will have more opportunities to open new lounges if they wish to do so.