Airlines change terminals at Changi

Four airlines will move their operations to new terminals at Singapore’s Changi airport over the next month.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) revealed on Friday that Asiana Airlines, Lion Air, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and PAL Express will all be shifted to different terminals, in an effort to “optimise capacity utilisation across its three terminals”.

On 30 September 2013, South Korea’s Asiana will move from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, then on 18 October Indonesia’s Lion Air will also shift to T3, from its current base at Terminal 1. And on 28 October, Philippines-based sister carriers PAL and PAL Express will both move their Singapore operations from T2 to T1.

The relocation exercise will include the reassignment of check-in rows within the terminals, while CAG said it will provide signage to allow passengers to navigate their way around the new terminals, with additional staff also being deployed to provide information and directions.
Following these four moves, CAG said it will also undertake “periodic reassignment of terminal facilities” in future, in an effort to optimise resources and facilities, especially during peak seasons.

“We review Changi airport’s terminal utilisation regularly as it is important to ensure that our infrastructure is best used to support the development plans of airlines and to ensure smooth airport operations for our passengers,” said Yeo Kia Thye, CAG’s senior vice president for airport operations.

“We are deeply appreciative of the cooperation that our airline partners have accorded to us for this relocation exercise. CAG will work closely with each of them to ensure a seamless transition and minimal inconvenience to passengers,” he added.

Changi handles more than 52 million passenger movements a year, making it the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. The new Terminal 4 project and the expansion of T1 will raise terminal capacity to 85m passengers per year by 2018.