Singapore Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew attended this week’s ceremony marking construction commencement or Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 – due to open in 2017.

 

The Changi Airport Group is promising that this relatively moderately sized terminal will comprise both design and process innovations which will redefine passengers’ travel experience as well as raise operational efficiencies and manpower productivity for airlines and airport agencies.

 

CAG says the new terminal will be able to handle 16m passengers a year and once complete will bring Changi Airport’s annual handling capacity to 82m. An additional 17 narrow-body and nine wide-body aircraft stands are also being constructed south of Terminal 3, in preparation for the increased demand for aircraft parking as Changi’s air traffic continues to grow.

 

 

From a retail standpoint, Changi Airport T4 will also feature the very first walk-through retail concept at any of Changi’s existing terminals, although arguably the airport’s ‘walk past’ philosophy continues to serve it well in most of the existing facilities. This new feature will apply specifically to the top two product categories of liquor and tobacco and perfumes and cosmetics (both contracts currently out to tender).

 

The two-storey, 25-metre-high building will boast a gross floor area of 195,000sq m, with a 300-metre-long Central Galleria, which separates the public zone from the restricted zone.

 

In total the T4 will feature will offer more than 15,000sq m of space dedicated to shopping and dining and CAG points out that this is vastly superior to the space allocated at the former Budget Terminal which previously occupied the site where T4 will now be built. In terms of floor area, T4 building will be around seven times larger than the BT, with 17 contact stands.

 

FLEXIBLE TERMINAL USAGE

Having said this, CAG is clearly expecting significant some budget airline business at the new terminal with its declared plan to deliver “the premium airport experience that Changi Airport is renowned for”, alongside several fast, self service and automated passenger services.

 

These will apparently include fast options at check-in, bag drop, immigration clearance and departure gate boarding. CAG says that self-service kiosks will also be available at T4 “throughout the day”, with passengers able to check-in at their own convenience before their flights without waiting in queues during peak periods.

 

CAG says that these “FAST” initiatives reflect the global trend towards self-service options in airports and are significantly necessary, since Singapore is currently a very tight labour market, especially in the ground handling and security sectors (and also in retail-Ed).

 

Terminal 4 has been designed by on what CAG describes as “a simple and functional architectural concept” by a design consortium led by SAA Architects Pte Ltd, with members including UK architecture firm Benoy Ltd. It draws inspiration from an orchid petal.

 

Besides creating a sense of openness, greenery and natural lighting – a Changi Airport signature – will also be used to enhance the ambience of the terminal. And taking public feedback into consideration, the T4 transit area will feature local culture and heritage-theme features, such as retail stores with facades of old Peranakan shop houses. Retail and F&B offerings at T4 will be comparable to the range and variety offered at Changi Airport’s other terminals.

 

[TOP IMAGE: The kerbside entrance to Terminal 4].