Changi Airport Terminal 4 starts operations

Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 (T4) opens today by welcoming passengers of Cathay Pacific and Korean Air. Cathay Pacific flight CX659 from Hong Kong was the first flight to arrive at the new terminal at 0540 hours. Its passengers were warmly welcomed with orchids and goodie bags as they stepped into the terminal. Passengers departing on the first departure flight CX650, bound for Hong Kong at 0650 hours, were also treated to yummy local delights, games and activities at the G19 boarding gate area.

As at 1700 hours today, T4 has served 11 flights and about 2,400 passengers. More than 80% of them used at least one of the Fast and Seamless Travel self-service options for check-in, bag-drop, immigration and boarding.

By the end of today, T4 would have handled 19 arrival and departure flights carrying about 4,200 passengers. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air are the first two of nine airlines to be operating at Changi’s brand new terminal. Korea Air’s first arrival and departure flights at T4 will take place at 1955 hours and 2230 hours respectively.

Mr Tan Lye Teck, Changi Airport Group’s Executive Vice President for Airport Management said, “After five years in the making, we are very happy to commence operations at T4. The new terminal will increase Changi Airport’s capacity by another 16 million passenger movements per annum (mppa), bringing the total to 82 mppa. T4 is expected to handle about eight million passenger movements in its first year of operation. More importantly, we are now able to deliver an even better travel experience to Changi’s passengers.

“We are thankful that everything has been smooth so far today. Our operations teams will continue to keep a close eye on the various systems to ensure that passengers enjoy a seamless travel experience at T4. We look forward to welcoming the other T4 airlines, which will start their operations progressively on 2 and 7 November[1].”

Plethora of delights to thrill passengers
The shops and restaurants at T4, comprising well-loved local and international brands, were ready to welcome passengers with their new retail concepts and offerings. Of the 81 outlets, 62 are retail and service outlets and 19 are F&B ones. About a quarter of them are making their debut at Changi Airport.

At the new integrated Cosmetics & Perfumes and Liquor & Tobacco stores operated by The Shilla Duty Free and DFS respectively, passengers were pleasantly surprised with the new convenience of being able to pay for all their purchases from the two stores in a single transaction. Others were attracted by the double volume retail outlets in the Departure Transit area, which wowed passengers with their attractive frontage, some spanning their entire 11-metre-high walls. Many passengers checked in early so that they could explore the various offerings in the terminal, including the different art displays and immersive LED walls.

One of the main attractions at T4 is the Heritage Zone, with its facades of old Singapore shop houses, as well as the row of F&B outlets exuding nostalgia through their local delights and old-school furnishings. They serve up well-loved traditional breakfast and snack items such as kaya toast, mee siam and kopi. Passengers were also excited to try the roti prata from the ‘live’ prata station, where the popular Indian pancake is prepared by a chef right before their eyes.

“We have received very encouraging feedback from passengers that the offerings curated for T4 are refreshing and bring a new dimension to shopping and dining at Changi Airport. Our commercial team has paid attention to bringing in innovative concepts and new experiences for passengers spanning a range of categories, from the ‘live’ cooking stations for prata and BBQ pork, to the sampling of cocktail mixes and the test-flying of drones. We will continue to work with our tenant partners to create a fun, vibrant and positively surprising experience for passengers and visitors at T4,” said Ms Teo Chew Hoon, CAG’s Group Senior Vice President for Airside Concessions.

To celebrate the start of operations at T4, a host of “Opening Specials” are up for grabs, from food deals to retail promotions. Details can be found at http://bit.ly/T4Openingspecials

Photo credit: Changi Airport