Changi Airport poised for growth, but threats to hub status loom

Asia-Pacific's economic resurgence boosts prospects, but competition set to intensify

- Kok Yufeng

Growth is the word on everyone's lips when it comes to the outlook for Changi Airport in 2025, after the airport narrowly missed out on a full recovery in passenger traffic in 2024.

Having handled 67.7 million passengers in 2024 – 99.1 per cent of the record 68.3 million handled in 2019 – the airport is poised to grab a larger slice of an expanding aviation pie, industry analysts told The Straits Times.

Projections are for low single-digit growth in the year ahead.

The airport is expected to be buoyed by an economic resurgence in the Asia-Pacific and improved connectivity, with the introduction of new airlines and routes, and increased flight frequencies.

As at January, 100 airlines are operating more than 7,400 scheduled flights at Changi each week, linking Singapore to 163 cities in 49 countries and territories.

This is close to the scale of the airport's network in January 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic, when Singapore was linked to more than 170 cities. The aim is to have more than 200 city links by the mid-2030s.

But hurdles loom on the horizon that could pose a threat to Changi's status as a leading hub.

Travel analyst Gary Bowerman said travel, tourism and aviation in South-east Asia and across the Asia-Pacific will get highly competitive in 2025.

Margins and profits will tighten, and the battle to attract travellers will intensify, added the Kuala Lumpur-based director of tourism consulting firm Check-in Asia.

At a dinner in September 2024 to mark the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore's 40th anniversary, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted the narrowing gap between Singapore and other regional air hubs, and the significant investments being made to improve and expand airports in these countries.