Changi Airport's passenger movements dipped 0.5% in September

Even landings and takeoffs went down.

According to a release, Singapore Changi Airport registered 4.25 million passenger movements in September 2014, a decline of 0.5% year-on-year. Aircraft landings and takeoffs decreased by 5.0% to 27,020. On the cargo front, 147,800 tonnes of airfreight were processed last month, 2.7% lower than a year before.

During the month, traffic to South Asia and Northeast Asia grew by 11% and 2% respectively, but other regions, including Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas, saw lower passenger movements. Among Changi Airport’s top 10 country markets, India registered double-digit growth, while China and Thailand traffic dipped, down 6% and 9% respectively year-on-year.

In the first three quarters of this year, 40.09 million passengers travelled through Changi Airport, 0.9% more than the corresponding period in 2013. Aircraft movements moved in tandem, growing by 0.6% to 255,260. During the same period, cargo shipments totalled 1.37 million tonnes, a growth of 0.3%.

Passenger traffic growth in the first nine months of this year was fuelled by stronger travel demand on Northeast Asia, South Asia and Southwest Pacific routes. Southeast Asia traffic registered little change for the same period, as growth for Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam was offset by a 15% decline for Thailand.

Jakarta continued to top the list of Changi Airport’s busiest routes this year, followed by Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila. Traffic to and from Denpasar-Bali registered more than 20% growth in the first nine months, the highest among Changi Airport’s top 10 destinations.

In the 12 months ending September 2014, Changi Airport registered 54.1 million passengers, representing a growth of 1.5% from a year ago.

As at 1 October 2014, more than 100 airlines operate at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to over 300 cities in some 70 countries and territories worldwide. With more than 6,400 weekly scheduled flights, an aircraft takes off or lands at Changi roughly once every 90 seconds.