Changi Airport’s passenger traffic in first half of 2024 surges, almost matches pre-pandemic levels

Singapore Changi Airport handled 16.5 million passenger movements from April to June 2024, an increase of 13.4 percent compared to a year ago. This was 98.2 percent of passenger movements for the same period in 2019, an official release stated. Aircraft movements, including landings and take-offs, totalled 89,300 for the quarter, up 9.7 percent year-on-year, and was 94.5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Overall, the airport has handled 33.01 million passengers in the first half of 2024, which is 99.3 percent pre-Covid passenger movement numbers, recorded for the same period in 2019.

Changi Airport’s top five markets for the second quarter of 2024 were Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Australia and India. China saw the highest growth among Changi’s top markets, with traffic doubling compared to the same period last year, and surpassing pre-Covid numbers.

For the period, North Asia was the fastest growing region, registering a 40.8 percent increase year-on-year, and also exceeding pre-Covid levels.

From April to June 2024, Changi Airport registered 486,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput, surpassing the same period last year by 16 percent. Growth was registered across all cargo flows – exports, imports and transhipments, led by strong cargo flows between Singapore and China, as well as the United States of America.

For this period, Changi’s top five air cargo markets were Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and United States of America.

Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s Executive Vice President for Air Hub and Cargo Development said, “Changi Airport continues to expand its global network, having added more flights in the second quarter. Travellers can now explore more destinations with Changi’s connectivity to cities such as Broome, Brussels, Quanzhou and Vancouver, and enjoy more options to evergreen favourites like Tokyo and London. Together with our airline partners, we are striving towards full travel recovery by the end of this year.”

As of 1 July, 94 airlines operate over 6,900 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 158 cities in 50 countries and territories worldwide.