SINGAPORE. Following a challenging first half in 2009 Changi Airport registered a strong rebound in the final quarter, with a monthly record of 3.83 million passenger movements in December.
This was an increase of +9.7% compared to December 2008, and +9.1% more than the previous record of 3.51 million set in December 2007.
Besides breaking the previous record for monthly traffic, December 2009 also saw a new record for the number of passenger movements in a day at Changi. This was set on Saturday 19 December, with 140,000 passenger movements during the 24 hours.
As a result of the stronger performance in the last five months of the year, Changi Airport achieved better-than-expected passenger traffic of 37.2 million for 2009. This was -1.3% less than the 37.7 million recorded in 2008.
Despite the impact of the global economic downturn, Changi handled more flights in 2009 with a total of 240,360: an increase of +3.6% compared to 2008. There were 21,885 flights in December – an increase of +5.4% year-on-year.
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Bright spots in 2009
Demand for air travel was affected by weaker consumer confidence in most markets, but traffic between Singapore and Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the UAE grew in 2009. In particular, traffic between Singapore and Malaysia increased by +42%, following new and increased services to points in both East and Peninsular Malaysia.
Changi Airport’s top ten city links by passenger traffic saw some changes, with Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur rising to numbers 1 and 2 respectively. Denpasar (Bali) entered the top ten, replacing Perth. Among sectors with at least half a million passengers Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Manila, Jakarta and Phuket registered the strongest growth.
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During 2009 Changi Airport Group continued to enhance the airport’s connectivity, increasing its number of weekly scheduled flights by +7.3% from 4,672 in January 2008 to 5,012 a year later. In absolute terms, the five sectors with the most added flights in 2009 were Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Jakarta, Manila and Denpasar (Bali).
14 new city links were established through the year, bringing Changi’s global connections to more than 200 cities in 60 countries and territories today. At the same time, six airlines commenced operations at Changi in 2009, including India’s Kingfisher Airlines, Malaysia’s Firefly, and cargo carriers K-Mile and Cardig Air.
The number of low-cost carrier (LCC) passenger movements and flights each increased by more than +50%. For 2009, LCCs accounted for 19.1% of passenger movements (2008: 12.3%) and 23.6% of flights (2008: 15.7%) at Changi.
Another award-winning year
Changi Airport landed 27 “˜best’ awards in 2009, with both business and leisure travellers continuing to rate Changi highly. Changi Airport was named “˜Best Airport in the World’ by Business Traveller (UK/Europe) for the 22nd consecutive time and “˜Best International Airport’ by Conde Nast Traveler for the sixth time at its Business Travel Awards. In the leisure segment, Changi was awarded “˜Top Worldwide Airport’ by Wanderlust. These awards take Changi’s total haul of awards to 341 since its opening in 1981.
Changi Airport Group CEO Lee Seow Hiang said: “Last year was a difficult one for the aviation industry and I’m glad Changi has held up well to register a strong performance in the latter part of the year.
“On the connectivity front, we are linked to more cities than ever with a growing number of weekly scheduled flights. We are beginning 2010 on a strong footing, and expect the improving global economy and exciting tourism developments in Singapore this year to have a positive impact on Changi’s performance.”
Commenting on the awards won by Changi last year, Lee said: “These awards are a powerful affirmation by our customers and partners that Changi continues to be on the right track. We owe our success to each and every single staff working at the airport. I thank all members of the Changi Airport community for their dedication and effort, and look forward to working with them to take Changi to greater heights.”
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