Update on T5 Development and Changi Airport's Preparation for Increase in Air Traffic

Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether an update can be provided on the development of Changi Airport Terminal 5 and its possible completion date; and (b) how is Changi Airport preparing for a possible surge of air traffic in 2024 as the International Air Transport Association expects global air travel volume to exceed pre-pandemic in 2024.

Monthly passenger traffic at Changi Airport in December 2023 has recovered to around 90% of pre-COVID levels. For the full year 2023, Changi Airport handled 58.9 million passenger movements, or 86% of the traffic recorded in 2019. We expect Changi Airport’s passenger volumes to reach pre-COVID levels in 2024.

Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) is needed to meet the demand for air travel in the longer term and to ensure that Singapore continues to be well-connected with the rest of the world. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has been working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group in the development of T5. We are making good progress in the design, following a two-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect construction to start next year, and for T5 to be operational in the mid-2030s.

To provide for sufficient capacity before T5 is ready, Terminal 2 (T2) was fully reopened in November 2023, after three and a half years of engineering and expansion works. This provided an additional five million passengers per annum (mppa) to Changi’s pre-pandemic capacity, bringing the airport’s total handling capacity to 90 mppa.

On the manpower front, MOT and CAAS have been working closely with aviation stakeholders to build up their workforce to support the ramp-up in capacity at Changi Airport. To date, the air transport sector workforce has reached over 95% of pre-COVID numbers, and we expect it to fully recover this year. We will work with the companies and unions to press on with the upskilling of existing workers and training of new hires.

In tandem, we are working to accelerate the adoption of automation and technology at Changi Airport to increase productivity. For instance, the ongoing airport-wide roll out of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s New Clearance Concept, which automates and digitalises end-to-end clearance processes for passengers, would help to reduce clearance time at the immigration halls.

By continuing to work together as one Changi community and leveraging on our strong tripartite partnerships, I am confident that Changi Airport will be ready to welcome more passengers to Singapore and offer them the distinctive traveller experience that Changi is known for.