Changi Airport’s Passenger Traffic Recovers to 86% of Pre-Covid Levels
10 Feb 2024
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In 2023, Changi Airport’s passenger traffic has recovered to 86% of pre-Covid levels, driven by strong growth in the fourth quarter.
Some key highlights of 2023:
In 2023, Changi Airport handled 58.9 million passenger movements, which is 86% of the traffic in 2019.
Aircraft movements totaled 328,000, compared to 382,000 in 2019.
Airfreight throughput for 2023 stood at 1.74 million tonnes, a 6% decrease from the previous year.
For the fourth quarter of 2023, passenger traffic has crossed 90% recovery with 16.1 million passenger movements. In December 2023, it was the busiest month for Changi Airport, recording 5.8 million passengers. The busiest day was December 22, 2023, with 203,000 passengers passing through the airport terminals.
In 2023, Changi Airport also welcomed three new passenger airlines: Air Macau, Firefly, and TransNusa, and introduced two new passenger city links to its network: Bhubaneswar (India) and Sanya (China).
Top passenger markets and routes:
Changi Airport’s top five passenger markets include Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, and India.
China, Japan, and South Korea were the fastest-growing markets compared to 2022.
Kuala Lumpur route was the world’s busiest international route based on seat capacity (OAG, 2023)
On the cargo front, cargo flows experienced a slight dip compared to 2022 due to global economic uncertainty. Recent airfreight throughput numbers reached 150,000 tonnes, showing a 1.5% decrease compared to December 2022. Changi Airport’s top five air cargo markets in 2023 were China, Australia, Hong Kong, USA, and India. In December 2023, Changi Airport welcomed three new freighter services from MSC Air Cargo (Operated by Atlas Air), Sichuan Airlines, and Myanmar National Airlines.
As we say goodbye to 2023, the aviation industry is setting its sights on a promising 2024 with expectations of a growing demand for air travel and exciting new possibilities.
Future Outlook in 2024:
Changi Airport aims for a full recovery to pre-Covid connectivity and traffic levels in 2024.
Air Canada also announced its return to Changi Airport after 30 years, commencing its non-stop Vancouver-Singapore service in April 2024.
Singapore Airlines will launch new passenger services to Brussels and London Gatwick in June 2024.