By Ernie B. Calucag
Singapore Changi Airport said Tuesday that passenger traffic rose 12 per cent in January, boosted by the Lunar New Year holidays.SINGAPORE
Changi Airport, Asia’s second-biggest after Hong Kong, received 4.24 million passengers in January, compared to 3.79 million a year ago.
Air traffic movements grew in tandem, clocking 27,600 aircraft movements, 14.9 per cent more than a year ago.
The Changi Airport group said travel demand in January was boosted by the Lunar New Year holidays spread over a long weekend. But the long holiday lowered its cargo volume which registered 7.1-per cent decline to 136,800 tonnes in January.
Demand was strongest in the routes for Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. Each of these regions registered double-digit growth in January, compared with the same month in 2011.
The top five routes were Jakarta, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila, and they accounted for close to one-third of passenger traffic.
In 2011, Changi Airport handled 46.5 million passengers, up 10.7 per cent from a year ago.
Low-cost carriers accounted for one in four passengers last year, up from one in five in 2010.
The airport serves more than 100 airlines and is a base for several carriers including Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways and Qantas’ JetStar Asia.
