Changi Airport handles 17.4 million passengers in Q3, up 0.4% year on year

[SINGAPORE] Changi Airport recorded 17.4 million passenger movements in its third quarter ended Sep 30, a 0.4 per cent increase year on year, with Vietnam posting the strongest growth among its passenger markets.

Aircraft movements, comprising landings and take-offs, rose 2.5 per cent year on year to 93,900, said Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Monday (Oct 19).

Europe, North-east Asia and the South West Pacific were the key drivers of passenger traffic growth in Q3.

China, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and India were the airport’s top five passenger markets for the quarter. Among the top 10 markets, Vietnam recorded year-on-year growth of 20.5 per cent, and China grew by 10.4 per cent.

The airport’s five busiest routes for the quarter were Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Denpasar in Bali, Bangkok and Shanghai. Among the 10 busiest routes, Tokyo and Melbourne recorded the strongest growth at 5.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.

Changi also expanded its network by adding four new passenger airlines during the quarter: Oman Air, Sun PhuQuoc Airways, AirBorneo and 9 Air.

In Q3, Changi Airport handled 574,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput, up 8 per cent year on year. The growth was supported by healthy demand across export and import flows, particularly for artificial intelligence-related semiconductor and electronics shipments.

China, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and India were the airport’s five largest cargo markets during the quarter.

The 17.4 million passenger movements recorded in Q3 were also slightly higher than the 17.2 million logged in the preceding quarter.

Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development, said that airlines continue to navigate elevated fuel costs and other operational pressures.

“We remain focused on working with our partners to strengthen connectivity, grow promising routes and pursue new opportunities that enhance Changi’s position as a leading global air hub,” he added.