Following what it describes as 'a challenging first half in 2009', Singapore Changi Airport reports that it handled a monthly record-breaking 3.83m passenger movements in December 2009 – an increase of 9.7% compared to December

2008 and 9.1% more than the previous 3.51m record set in December 2007.

Changi management said that this record was set after a strong rebound in the last quarter of the year and good results spanning the last five months of the year. In total, Changi handled 37.2m passengers in 2009 – a decline of 1.3% on 2008 – but management said this was nevertheless 'better than expected.

In a statement, Changi management said: ‘Despite the impact of the global economic downturn, Changi handled more flights in 2009 – a total of 240,360, an increase of 3.6% compared to 2008. There were 21,885 flights in December 2009, an increase of 5.4% year-on-year.’

The airport company said that while demand for air travel was impacted by weaker consumer confidence in most markets, traffic between Singapore and Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates grew in 2009. In particular, traffic between Singapore and Malaysia increased by a remarkable 42%, following new and increased services to points in both East and Peninsular Malaysia.

Changi Airport's top ten city links by passenger traffic saw some changes with Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur rising to numbers one and two respectively. Denpasar (Bali) entered the top 10, replacing Perth. Among sectors with at least half a million passengers, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Manila, Jakarta and Phuket registered the strongest growth.

Changi Airport Group said: ‘During 2009, Changi Airport Group continued to enhance Changi's connectivity, increasing its number of weekly scheduled flights by 7.3% from 4,672 on 1 January 2008 to 5,012 a year later. In absolute terms, the five sectors with the most added flights in 2009 were Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Jakarta, Manila and Denpasar (Bali).

‘Fourteen new city links were established through the year, bringing Changi's global connections to more than 200 cities in 60 countries and territories today. At the same time, six airlines commenced operations at Changi in 2009, including India's Kingfisher Airlines, Malaysia's Firefly, and cargo carriers K-Mile and Cardig Air.

‘2009 was also the year of low cost carriers (LCCs), which added flights to serve demand for short-haul, low-cost travel. The number of LCC passenger movements and flights each increased by more than 50%. For 2009, LCCs accounted for 19.1% of passenger movements (2008: 12.3%) and 23.6% of flights (2008: 15.7%) at Changi.’

Changi Airport Group's Ceo, Lee Seow Hiang, said: ‘Last year was a difficult one for the aviation industry and I'm glad Changi has held up well to register a strong performance in the latter part of the year. On the connectivity front, we are linked to more cities than ever with a growing number of weekly scheduled flights. We are beginning 2010 on a strong footing, and expect the improving global economy and exciting tourism developments in Singapore this year to have a positive impact on Changi's performance.’

Besides breaking the previous record for monthly traffic, December 2009 also saw a new record for the number of passenger movements in a day at Changi. This was set on the Saturday before Christmas Day (19 December 2009) with 140,000 passenger movements during the 24-hour period.