Changi Airport’s Budget Terminal to be closed from Sep-2012, new terminal to be constructed by 2017

Singapore's Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced (01-Mar-2012) it will close Singapore Changi Airport's Budget Terminal on 25-Sep-2012. The terminal will be demolished to make way for the construction of a larger passenger building. Details include:

• New terminal capacity and product: The new terminal, to be known as Terminal 4, will have a capacity of 16 million passengers p/a. It will be designed to enable efficient passenger processing and quick turnaround of aircraft, and will not have aerobridges. Unlike the present Budget Terminal, Terminal 4 will have a wide choice of retail and food and beverage offerings as well as passenger amenities;
• Construction timeline: Construction of Terminal 4 will begin in 2013, with the new terminal expected to be ready by 2017. Further details of the new terminal will be released at a later date;
• Effect on airlines: To facilitate the construction of Terminal 4, airlines currently operating in the Budget Terminal will move their operations to Terminal 2 and will start operations there from 06:00 hours on 25-Sep-2012. The affected airlines are Berjaya Air, Cebu Pacific, Firefly, South East Asian Airlines and Tiger Airways. CAG stated it has had discussions with the airlines operating at the Budget Terminal since late last year regarding the terminal's closure. Tiger Airways, meanwhile, confirmed it will relocate to Terminal 2 at the airport on 25-Sep-2012;
• Current terminal traffic: The existing Budget Terminal handled more than 4.6 million passenger movements in 2011. While Changi Airport, with a total capacity of more than 70 million passengers p/a, still has room to accommodate air traffic growth, CAG is planning ahead to ensure there is capacity to handle a further increase in traffic demand. Over the past decade, passenger traffic at Changi Airport has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 5.2%. In 2011, Changi handled a total of 46.5 million passenger movements, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. Singapore-based carriers - Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and Scoot - have ordered new aircraft and foreign carriers have also expressed the desire to grow their air links with Singapore. [more - original PR - Singapore Changi] [more - original PR - Tiger Airways]