Fourth terminal opens its doors at Singapore Changi Airport

FANFARE: Changi CEO Lee Seow Hiang offers orchids to passengers coming off T4's first arriving flight.

Terminal 4 (T4) opened its doors to Cathay Pacific and Korean Air passengers on Tuesday. The announcement marks an end to five years of work on the infrastructure which stands to allow Changi to leapfrog 13 spaces to become the fourth busiest airport in the world.

The inaugural arrival was Cathay Pacific’s CX659 from Hong Kong which arrived at 5.40am. Its passengers were welcomed with orchids and gift bags as they stepped into the terminal. Passengers leaving on the first departure flight CX650, bound for Hong Kong at 6.50am, were also treated to local goods, games and activities at the G19 boarding gate area.

Tan Lye Teck, Changi Airport Group’s Executive Vice President for Airport Management said, “After five years in the making, we are very happy to commence operations at T4. The new terminal will increase Changi Airport’s capacity by another 16 million passenger movements per annum (mppa), bringing the total to 82 mppa.  T4 is expected to handle about eight million passenger movements in its first year of operation. More importantly, we are now able to deliver an even better travel experience to Changi’s passengers. 

“We are thankful that everything has been smooth so far today. Our operations teams will continue to keep a close eye on the various systems to ensure that passengers enjoy a seamless travel experience at T4. We look forward to welcoming the other T4 airlines, which will start their operations progressively on 2 and 7 November.”

The shops and restaurants at T4, comprising local and international brands, were ready to welcome passengers with their new retail concepts and offerings. Of the 81 outlets, 62 are retail and service outlets and 19 are food and beverage stores. About a quarter of them are making their debut at Changi Airport. 

One of the main attractions at T4 is the Heritage Zone, with its facades of old Singapore shop houses, as well as the row of food and drink outlets exuding nostalgia through their local delights and old-school furnishings. They serve traditional breakfast and snack items such as kaya toast, mee siam and kopi.  Passengers also tried the roti prata from the ‘live’ prata station, where the popular Indian pancake is prepared by a chef before their eyes. 

“We have received very encouraging feedback from passengers that the offerings curated for T4 are refreshing and bring a new dimension to shopping and dining at Changi Airport.  Our commercial team has paid attention to bringing in innovative concepts and new experiences for passengers spanning a range of categories, from the ‘live’ cooking stations for prata and BBQ pork, to the sampling of cocktail mixes and the test-flying of drones. We will continue to work with our tenant partners to create a fun, vibrant and positively surprising experience for passengers and visitors at T4,” said Teo Chew Hoon, CAG’s Group Senior Vice President for Airside Concessions.

Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines begin operations at T4 today (November 2), while the AirAsia Group (of four airlines) and Vietnam Airlines will do so on November 7.