Singapore's Changi Airport will switch to using its first and third runway from 25 October 2020, while shutting the second runway to facilitate infrastructure works.
Operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) says the temporary closure of the second runway is to ensure safe flight operations as it undertakes the next phase of infrastructure works for the Changi East project.
This encompasses the airport's fifth terminal; the Changi East Industrial Zone and supporting facilities, targeted to complete by early 2030s; as well as operationalising a three-runway system at Changi Airport by the mid-2020s.
The third runway, 02R/20L is now used only by the country's air force, while the first and second runways, 02L/20R and 02C/20C respectively, are used for commercial flights, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore's Aeronautical Information Publication document.
CAG tells Cirium that it has made arrangements with the air force to allow runway 02R/20L to be used for both civil and military operations. The runway has also been extended from 2,750m to 4,000m.
No firm timeline has been set for the second runway's return to service.
"Runway 2 will be closed when Runway 3 (02R/20L) commences operations in October 2020. We expect Runway 2 to be closed for a few years, depending on the progress of works at Changi East," CAG says.
Terminal 5 is a key component of the Changi East project, and will be able to handle 50 million passengers per annum initially, with a provision to raise its capacity up to 70 million. This means that the building will be larger than Terminals 1 to 3 combined.
