Singapore Changi expecting strong year head after 2024 traffic growth

Singapore Changi Airport handled 67.7 million passengers in 2024, up 14.8% on 2023 and less than 1% down on pre-COVID 2019 traffic levels.

Aircraft movements, totalled 366,000 in 2024, up 11.5% compared to 2023. A total of 1.99 million tonnes airfreight throughput was recorded in the year, surpassing 2023’s level by 14.6%.

In a busy fourth quarter of 2024, Changi Airport matched its 2019 traffic levels when it handled 17.8 million passengers – a rise of 10.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

December 2024, with 6.4 million passenger movements, was the busiest month in the year, the first time monthly traffic has exceeded six million since December 2019.

The busiest day of the year was 21 December 2024 – the Saturday before Christmas – when 226,000 passengers passed through Changi’s terminals.

While all regions witnessed growth, North Asia was the fastest growing in 2024, registering an increase of 40% compared to 2023. Changi Airport’s top five passenger markets for the year were China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Thailand.

China was Changi’s largest source market of the year, with passenger traffic almost doubling 2023’s level and surpassing the pre-Covid level by 6%. Hong Kong and Japan also recorded significant growth of more than 20% year-on-year.

Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali) and Hong Kong were Changi Airport’s busiest routes during the year. Shanghai entered Changi’s top 10 cities list for the first time since 2011, registering a 94% growth compared to the previous year.

On the cargo front, growth was seen across all cargo flows – exports, imports and transhipments, contributed by major improvements in cargo flows between Singapore and China, as well as the United States.

Growth was also driven by the recovery of Singapore’s electronics exports and re-exports, strong global demand for cross-border e-commerce shipments and the modal shift from ocean to air freight arising from disruptions in maritime transport.

For the year, Changi’s top five air cargo markets were China, Australia, the United States, Hong Kong and India.

Yam Kum Weng, CEO of Changi Airport Group, enthused: “We witnessed a year of strong growth in passenger and cargo traffic as well as connectivity in 2024.

“Changi added a bumper crop of 11 new city links, strengthening the air hub’s network and opening up a world of new destinations to support business ties and for travellers to explore.

“We are deeply grateful for the close partnership with our airline partners and are pleased to welcome the new airlines to Changi. Their collaboration has been instrumental in driving this growth.

“Looking ahead, we are optimistic of another year of growth in passenger traffic. Operating a major air hub in Asia-Pacific, Changi Airport Group will continue to invest in our airport’s infrastructure, systems and processes to augment our handling capacity, so as to be well-placed to support the rising demand for air travel in the coming years.”