Singapore opens new airport terminal
Singapore on Wednesday opened its largest and most expensive airport terminal that industry analysts say will reinforce the city-state's position as a regional aviation hub.
By Agencies |
SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday opened its largest and most expensive airport terminal that industry analysts say will reinforce the city-state's position as a regional aviation hub.
A Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco became the first to land at Terminal 3 about 0400 GMT, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which operates Changi Airport, said.
"We have received the first arrivals," the spokesperson told AFP. Passengers arrived to a traditional Chinese lion dance and a greeting from Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim, CAAS said in a statement.
"With this new terminal, we are poised to meet the demands of the growing tourist and business traffic in and out of Singapore," Lim said, particularly when two multi-billion-dollar casino and entertainment resorts begin operation by 2010.
Built at a cost of 1.75 billion Singapore dollars Terminal 3 offers 380,000 square metres of space in a seven-storey building.
It can handle 22 million passengers a year, bringing Changi's total capacity to about 70 million, CAAS said.
Terminal 3 will add 28 aerobridge gates to Changi, with up to eight designed to handle the world's biggest passenger plane, the superjumbo Airbus A380.
Singapore Airlines in October became the world's first airline to fly the double-decker A380 and is the first to operate from Terminal 3.
With shiny granite floor tiles and carpeted lounges, Terminal 3 has the ambience of a five-star hotel. Trees and plants dot the building, which boasts a five-storey vertical garden with waterfalls.
CAAS said Terminal 3 is home to more than 140 retail and food outlets, from hamburgers to high fashion.
A 350-room hotel will be linked to the terminal, the airport operator said.
Analysts say the new facility will boost Changi's appeal -- particularly compared with its key challenger in Bangkok, which was plagued with problems after opening in 2006. "It will push Singapore further ahead of its rivals," said Shukor Yusof, of Standard and Poor's Equity Research.
Terminal 3 is more than twice as large as the 140,000-square-metre second terminal which opened last June at Hong Kong International Airport.
Aviation industry competition is intensifying in a region where airline passenger growth is projected to increase faster than the global average.
A Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco became the first to land at Terminal 3 about 0400 GMT, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which operates Changi Airport, said.
"We have received the first arrivals," the spokesperson told AFP. Passengers arrived to a traditional Chinese lion dance and a greeting from Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim, CAAS said in a statement.
"With this new terminal, we are poised to meet the demands of the growing tourist and business traffic in and out of Singapore," Lim said, particularly when two multi-billion-dollar casino and entertainment resorts begin operation by 2010.
Built at a cost of 1.75 billion Singapore dollars Terminal 3 offers 380,000 square metres of space in a seven-storey building.
It can handle 22 million passengers a year, bringing Changi's total capacity to about 70 million, CAAS said.
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Terminal 3 will add 28 aerobridge gates to Changi, with up to eight designed to handle the world's biggest passenger plane, the superjumbo Airbus A380.
Singapore Airlines in October became the world's first airline to fly the double-decker A380 and is the first to operate from Terminal 3.
With shiny granite floor tiles and carpeted lounges, Terminal 3 has the ambience of a five-star hotel. Trees and plants dot the building, which boasts a five-storey vertical garden with waterfalls.
CAAS said Terminal 3 is home to more than 140 retail and food outlets, from hamburgers to high fashion.
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A 350-room hotel will be linked to the terminal, the airport operator said.
Analysts say the new facility will boost Changi's appeal -- particularly compared with its key challenger in Bangkok, which was plagued with problems after opening in 2006. "It will push Singapore further ahead of its rivals," said Shukor Yusof, of Standard and Poor's Equity Research.
ADVERTISEMENT
Terminal 3 is more than twice as large as the 140,000-square-metre second terminal which opened last June at Hong Kong International Airport.
Aviation industry competition is intensifying in a region where airline passenger growth is projected to increase faster than the global average.
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