As at January 2025, 100 airlines operate over 7,400 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 163 cities in 49 countries and territories worldwide.

Singapore Changi Airport handled 67.7 million passenger movements in 2024, registering a 14.8% year-on-year increase. This was 99.1% of the passenger movements recorded in 2019.

Aircraft movements, totalled 366,000 in 2024, up 11.5% compared to 2023.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Changi Airport handled 17.8 million passenger movements.

This was a 10.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023, and marked a full traffic recovery compared to Q4 of 2019.

Aircraft movements, which include landings and take-offs, totalled 95,300, up 9.3% year-on-year.

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 when 226,000 passengers passed through Changi’s terminals.

Regional growth abounds

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.

Traffic figures for 2024 showed double-digit yoy growth for the first three months of the year at Singapore Changi Airport.

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.

Mr Yam Kum Weng, Chief Executive Officer of Changi Airport Group, said: “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.

Cargo and airfreight

A total of 1.99m tonnes of airfreight throughput was recorded in the year, surpassing 2023’s level by 14.6%.

For Q4 2024, 521,000 tonnes in airfreight throughput was recorded, an increase of 15.0%.

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

The latter half of the year showed strong, albeit more measured passenger growth at Singapore Changi Airport.

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.

Weng noted: “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.”

Enhancing connectivity

In 2024, Changi Airport welcomed eight new passenger airlines – Aero Dili, AirAsia Cambodia, Air Canada, Air Japan, Loong Air, Peach Aviation, Tianjin Airlines and West Air.

As Changi expanded its connectivity to the world, it added 11 new passenger city links to its network, connecting Singapore to Broome, Brussels, Guiyang, Kertajati, Lhasa, Linyi, Malacca, Phu Quoc, Quanzhou, Vancouver, and Wenzhou.

During the year, Changi also established flights to London Gatwick Airport and Subang Airport, providing more options for travels to London and Kuala Lumpur.

Changi is set to add new destinations including Labuan Bajo from March, and Vienna from June this year.

Changi Airport also welcomed two new freighter airlines in 2024 – Shandong Airlines, which also resumed passenger services during the year, and Air Incheon.

Two new freighter city links were added, connecting Singapore to Haikou and Nagoya.

READ MORE: Changi sees 18% uplift in concession sales yoy from Jan-Nov 2024

READ MORE: PR GTR unveils The Glenlivet’s highest permanent age expression at Changi

READ MORE: The Shilla Duty Free invites travellers to ‘Wander The Magic’ at Changi Airport