February 6 2023  |  Airlines & Airports

Changi Airport reports handling over 32 million passengers in 2022

By Laura Shirk

December passenger traffic reached 72% of pre-COVID levels, connectivity restored to 82%

Singapore Changi Airport handled 32.2 million passenger movements in 2022, reaching almost half of its traffic in 2019.

Last year, all regions registered strong recovery in passenger traffic, with North America slightly exceeding pre-COVID levels on a full-year basis, and Southwest Pacific, South Asia and Europe each reaching two-thirds of 2019 traffic.

According to a press release published by Changi Airport Group (CAG), Southeast Asia also experienced a “robust pickup in traffic” following the region’s reopening. It ended the year on a positive, with a new high of two million passenger movements in December (this (represents over three-quarters of December 2019 traffic).

Changi Airport’s top five passenger markets of the year (in order): Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand.

Similar to 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta were Changi Airport’s three busiest routes in 2022. The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route is currently the world’s busiest international route based on seat capacity.

Passenger traffic continued to increase throughout 2022, peaking in December with 4.62 million passenger movements recorded (72% of Changi Airport traffic in December 2019).

The busiest week of the year (December 12 to 18) saw more than 1.07 million passengers traveling through Changi’s terminals (or 82% of the weekly average in 2019).

Among Changi’s top 10 markets, South Korea saw passenger traffic grow beyond pre-COVID levels in December 2022, driven in part by additional capacity from Changi’s airline partners.

“In the past two years, we strengthened our airport offerings and continued to engage our airline partners in anticipation of travel revival. Changi Airport community’s efforts have paid off – the airport is now leading the Asia Pacific region in travel recovery.

“The re-opening of Terminals 2 and 4 has helped restore airport capacity to cater to the strong travel demand. We look forward to welcoming more flights in the coming months, for example, Ethiopian Airlines will commence flights from Addis Ababa in March.

"Notwithstanding near-term challenges such as global economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures, we are confident that we will be able to progressively restore Changi Airport’s connectivity and traffic to pre-COVID levels,” said Mr. Lim Ching Kiat, Executive Vice President of Air Hub and Cargo Development, Changi Airport Group.

Enhancing connectivity

Last year, Changi Airport welcomed eight new airlines; seven passenger airlines (Aircalin, Bamboo Airways, Cambodia Airways, Citilink, HK Express, Thai Vietjet Air and T’way Air) and one freight operator (Atlas Air).

Four new passenger city links were established for 2023: Jeju (South Korea), Nouméa (New Caledonia), Pune (India) and Sibu (Malaysia).

As of the first week of January 2023, 96 airlines operate over 5,600 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 143 cities in 48 countries and territories worldwide. This is 82% of Changi’s pre-COVID connectivity.

Strengthening partnerships

With border restrictions lifted and safe management measures eased earlier in the year, CAG also reinstated various industry events to reconnect with trade and airline partners.

In August, CAG welcomed the partnership between DHL Express and Singapore Airlines to operate five Boeing 777 freighters out of Changi Airport, which will fly on routes between the United States and Singapore via points in North Asia and Australia.

The first two aircraft began operations at Changi Airport in 2022, strengthening the Changi air cargo hub by facilitating more express volumes between USA and Asia Pacific via Singapore.

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