Changi Airport
Changi Airport is the principal international airport serving the Republic of Singapore, and functions as one of the most significant aviation gateways in the Asia-Pacific region. Situated within the Changi planning area in the eastern part of the country, the airport is approximately from the Downtown Core and occupies a site spanning about. The airport is a base for more than 100 international carriers with scheduled services linking Singapore to destinations across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. As of 2025, Changi Airport handled 69.98 million passengers, ranking it as the 15th busiest globally.
Changi Airport serves as the headquarters for several aviation and ground handling entities. It is the home base of Singapore Airlines, the nation's flag carrier, along with its associated subsidiaries Singapore Airlines Cargo and Scoot, a regional low-cost carrier. The airport also hosts the operations of BOC Aviation, a major aircraft leasing firm. Ground and catering services are provided by SATS, whose facilities are located within the airport precincts. Owing to Singapore's central geographical location and high volume of international transit traffic, the airport has also been designated a principal cargo hub by FedEx Express, reinforcing its logistical and commercial importance within global air transport networks. The airport is managed by the Changi Airport Group, a corporate entity wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Singapore.
The airfield infrastructure comprises three operational runways, each measuring in length. While the main airport code is WSSS, the third runway, designated 02R/20L, was formerly part of the adjacent Changi Air Base and used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force, carrying the ICAO code WSAC. The terminal complex includes four passenger terminals, of which Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are directly connected to Jewel Changi Airport, a mixed-use development featuring retail, dining and entertainment facilities integrated with airport infrastructure.
Overview
Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines flying to 400+ cities in around 100+ countries and territories worldwide. About 7,400 flights arrive or depart at Changi each week, or one every 80 seconds.For the 2019 full-year figures published by the airport, the airport handled 68,300,000 passengers, the most in its 38-year history. This made it the seventh busiest airport by international passenger traffic in the world and the third busiest in Asia. In December 2019, Changi Airport registered a total of 6.41 million passenger movements, the highest the airport has ever achieved in a month since it opened in 1981. Its daily traffic movement record was also broken on 20 December 2019, with 226,692 passengers passing through during that day. In addition to being an important passenger hub, the airport is also one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, handling 2.01 million tonnes of cargo in 2019. The total number of commercial aircraft movements decreased by 1.0% from the previous year to 382,000 in 2019.
In 2025, Changi Airport served 69.98 million passengers, recorded about 374,000 aircraft movements and moved 2.08 million tons of air freight.
The airport has won over 680 awards since its opening, including 28 "Best Airport" awards in 2019 alone. Changi Airport's efforts to mitigate the effects of ageing infrastructure include continual physical upgrades to its existing terminals and building new facilities to maintain its high standards in airport service quality. In 2026, Changi Airport also ranked fourth as one of the top 10 brands in Singapore in YouGov's Best Brands Rankings 2026 report.
History
Conception
Prior to Changi, Singapore's main international airport was located at Paya Lebar. It had opened in 1955 with a single runway and a small passenger terminal, having itself replaced the previous Kallang Airport that began operations in 1937. The decision to move the airport from Paya Lebar to Changi was based on a number of factors. With the growth in global aviation transport, the airport was facing congestion problems. Its inability to cope with the rising traffic became critical by the 1970s; annual passenger numbers rose dramatically from 300,000 in 1955 to 1.7 million in 1970 and to 4 million in 1975. As a result, there was a need to accommodate the growing demand for air travel, the desire to establish Singapore as a global aviation hub, and the need to modernise the country's air transport infrastructure.The Singaporean government had two options – expand the existing airport at Paya Lebar or build a new airport at another location. After extensive studies, a decision was made in 1972 to keep the airport at Paya Lebar, as recommended by aviation consultants. Plans were made for the building of a second runway and an extensive redevelopment and expansion to the passenger terminal building. A year later, however, the plans were reviewed again as the pressure to expand the airport eased because of the 1973 oil crisis.
Concerned that the existing airport was located in an area with potential for urban growth, which would physically hem it in on all sides, the government subsequently decided in 1975 to build a new airport at the eastern tip of the main island at Changi, at the existing site of Changi Air Base. However, as there was an increase in traffic, the airport still had to be expanded at that time. In addition, aircraft could fly over the sea, avoiding noise pollution issues within residential areas and avoid disastrous consequences on the ground in the event of an air mishap. Formerly known as the Singapore International Airport, the airport in Paya Lebar was subsequently converted for military use and renamed as Paya Lebar Air Base.
Construction
The original master plan for Changi Airport involved constructing a dual-terminal and dual-runway configuration over two phases with provisions for another two passenger terminals in the future. Phase 1 included the construction for the first passenger terminal, the first runway reusing and upgrading the main runway of Changi Air Base, 45 aircraft parking bays, support facilities and structures, including a large maintenance hangar, a fire station, workshops and administrative offices, an airfreight complex, two cargo agents buildings, in-flight catering kitchens and an control tower. Construction for the second phase would commence immediately after the completion of Phase 1 and include the second runway, 23 new aircraft parking bays in addition to the existing 45 bays, a second fire station and a third cargo agent building.Changi Airport commenced commercial operations on 1 July 1981. Its first flight, Singapore Airlines SQ101, touched down that day at 7:10:00am Singapore Time with 140 passengers from Kuala Lumpur. It officially opened five months later on 29 December 1981. The airport ended its first year of operations with 12.1 million passengers, close to 200,000 tonnes of air freight handled and 63,100 aircraft movements. Subsequent phases opened progressively within the next few decades, with Terminal 2 opening for passenger traffic in 1990, Terminal 3 in 2008, and Terminal 4 in 2017. Terminal 5, which would be larger than all the previous terminals combined, is expected to open in 2030.
Terminals
Passenger terminals
Changi Airport has four main passenger terminals arranged in an elongated inverted "U" shape with Jewel in the centre of the "U" shape. Currently, the airport has a designed total annual handling capacity of 85 million passengers.| Terminal | Date of opening | Location |
| Terminal 1 | 1 July 1981 | Northern end |
| Terminal 2 | 22 November 1990 | Eastern end |
| Terminal 3 | 9 January 2008 | Western end |
| Terminal 4 | 31 October 2017 | Southern end |
| Terminal 5 | 2030s | Southeastern end |
There is also a privately run luxury terminal called the JetQuay CIP Terminal. It is similar to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport, but is open to all passengers travelling in all classes on all airlines with an access fee.
The short-lived Budget Terminal was opened on 26 March 2006 and closed on 25 September 2012 to make way for Terminal 4.
Terminal 5 is currently under construction. The new terminal is expected to be completed by 2030.
Future terminals and projects
is anticipated to be operational by the mid-2030s, to meet an anticipated doubling of volume by the 2040s. It is expected to handle 50 million passenger movements per annum. The airport terminal structure is projected to be larger than all the previous terminals combined. It will be built on reclaimed land to the east of the present terminals. It will be partially funded through an increased levy. KPF Singapore with Heatherwick Studio, Architects 61, and DP Architects will provide architectural services. Arup Singapore, Mott MacDonald Singapore and Surbana Jurong Consultants will provide engineering services. The former Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the Changi Terminal 5 project was delayed by at least 2 years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Mixed-use facilities
, which opened on 17 April 2019, is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex interconnecting Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Announced in 2013, it is a new terminal-like structure that is intended to simultaneously be a mixed-use complex. It is situated on a 3.5-hectare site where the Terminal 1 car park used to reside, which has since been moved underground. Jewel was developed by Jewel Changi Airport Trustee Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping mall business, CapitaLand Mall Asia. The project cost S$1.7 billion.Part of this project was planned to help expand Terminal 1 to handle 24 million passengers per year by 2018 with stand-alone check-in facilities and lounges, making it an unofficial terminal on its own. The Indoor Waterfall in the structure holds the World Record for the tallest indoor waterfall in the world.