Singapore’s Changi airport recovered to about 86% of pre-pandemic passenger volume in 2023, led by a strong rebound in Northeast and Southeast Asia traffic.
In its full-year traffic results, airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) also expects to fully recover passenger traffic and connectivity this year.
In 2023, Changi handed 58.9 million passenger movements, an increase of 83% year on year. Aircraft movements, at 328,000 for the full year, recovered to around 86% of 2019 levels as well, according to CAG traffic statistics.
The operator notes that Northeast Asia was the “forerunner” in traffic recovery in 2023, led by a “significant increase” in travel between Singapore and Mainland China as the latter scrapped its Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The Chinese market also returned to being Changi’s top 10 markets in 2023, after an absence of over two years. CAG also notes that Japan and South Korea were the fastest growing markets compared with 2022: Japan traffic in 2023 tripled year on year, while South Korea passenger movements exceeded Covid-19 levels by 36%.
CAG adds that Southeast Asia traffic was second strongest in growth, with traffic increasing around 72% year on year. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were among the top five passenger markets for the year.
The North America region was the sole market that reported a growth in traffic against pre-pandemic levels, increasing 25% against 2019. Regions such as Europe, Southwest Pacific and South Asia recovered over 90% of their pre-pandemic traffic.
Changi reported its busiest month in December, in line with the year-end peak travel period. CAG notes traffic recovered to around 91% of pre-Covid levels during the month, equating to around 5.8 million passengers.
CAG executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development Lim Ching Kiat notes that Asian markets led the boost in passenger traffic in 2023, with the October-December quarter seeing the strongest growth.
“2023 was an invigorating year, as we witnessed the resounding resumption of travel across the world, as well as the full reopening of Changi airport’s Terminal 2. The upswing in travel was fuelled by strong outbound travel demand, as well as growing inbound travel,” Lim states.
