Singapore Changi Airport Handles Record Traffic in 2007

Singapore Changi Airport handles record traffic in 2007

SINGAPORE, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Singapore’s Changi Airport handled a record 36.7 million passenger traffic in 2007, a 4.8 percent growth over 2006, due to strong growth of traffic flow from key markets like China and India, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Monday.

Chinese passengers registered 12.6 percent growth, and India visitors grew 15.6 percent, said CAAS in a statement.

Emerging markets such as Vietnam, Russia and South Africa also saw double digit growth in traffic at 24.4 percent, 27.7 percent and 15.1 percent respectively.

However, on the cargo front, Changi Airport handled 1.89 million tons, a drop of 0.9 percent compared to 2006.

The CAAS said it was mainly due to the softening demand for electronics in the United States, and the growing preference by manufacturers to ship their products by sea instead of by air, as a result of the high fuel price.

Highlights for Changi Airport in the last few months included the world’s first A380 commercial flight taking off in October, and the opening of Terminal 3 on Jan. 9, which boosts the airport’s total capacity by 45 percent to 70 million.

“Changi Airport is in good stead to tap on the strong demand for air travel,” Lim Kim Choon, director-general and chief executive officer of CAAS, said in the statement.

As at Jan. 1, 2008, Changi Airport is served by 81 airlines operating more than 4,310 weekly scheduled flights to 190 cities in 60 countries.

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