Changi Airport is celebrating a strong year of recovery in 2022. With the relaxation of travel restrictions in April, the Singapore hub saw passenger and flight movements rise steadily through the year with travel retail sales rising in tandem. By the end of October, the airport saw 23.6 million passenger movements, representing 42pc of pre-Covid-19 levels.

At the start of the year, only Terminals 1 (T1) and 3 (T3) were serving passengers, but Changi reopened Terminal 4 (T4) in September and the southern wing of Terminal 2 (T2) in October to cater to the surge in both outbound and inbound travel demand. Shops will re-open progressively in the upcoming months in tandem with passenger traffic recovery, the airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) stated.

For the first 10 months of the year, Changi’s top five country markets were Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. However, the strongest passenger traffic recovery came from North America, South Asia, and Europe. Passenger traffic to and from North America rebounded strongly to exceed pre-pandemic levels. For the South Asia market, apart from re-establishing all pre-Covid city links, Changi also added a new city link to Pune on 2 December 2022. For Europe, Changi has almost returned to pre-Covid level of flight frequencies.

Retail revival

A revival in travel retail sales saw Liquor, Perfumes & Cosmetics, and luxury products emerging as the top categories in Changi’s stores to date. “Even with Chinese tourists, who were the biggest spenders during pre-Covid days, still absent from the travel retail scene in Changi, some brands are seeing sales surging past pre-pandemic levels,” stated CAG.

CAG kickstarted its inaugural World of Wines and Spirits (WOWS) festival (pictured) in partnership with Lotte Duty Free at the end of September. WOWS showcases the world’s most internationally acclaimed, exclusive and premium wines and spirits, featuring over 200 of the finest products from more than 75 brands, including first-in-the-region rarities from renowned labels like Bowmore, The Macallan, Midleton, The Singleton and Penfolds. The event will run until the end of the year.

Besides themed holiday activations such as Chupa Chups and Peanuts in March and May respectively, the airport also rolled out various dining promotions and shopping campaigns during festive periods to drive sales to support tenants operating in the airport’s public areas.

Landside shops in T1 and T3 have also opened while Jewel Changi Airport continuously refreshed its offerings.

-B