Changi Airport to raise passenger and airline fees over six years to fund $3b improvement plans
Departing passengers who start their trips at Changi Airport will see their fees go up in stages from April 2027, reaching $79.20 in April 2030
Passengers and airlines at Changi Airport will pay higher fees and levies over the next six years, as the airport looks to finance a new $3 billion improvement plan across its four terminals and cover rising operating costs in areas such as energy and labour. Departing passengers who start their trips at Changi Airport will continue to pay a total of $65.20 in fees for the next two years. But this will go up in stages from April 2027, reaching $79.20 in April 2030 – a 21 per cent rise. For travellers transiting through the airport, the total fees levied on them will more than double, from $9 now to $21 in April 2030.
Meanwhile, airlines will need to pay about 40 per cent more to land and park their planes at Changi come 2030. For narrow-body jets such as the Airbus A320, the landing, parking and aerobridge fee at the airport will rise every year from April 2025, starting from $1,200 per landing now to about $1,725 per landing in April 2030. For wide-body planes such as the Airbus A350, the fee will also climb each year, from $3,600 today to $5,040 six years later. Announcing the fee hikes and the multibillion-dollar investment on Nov 7, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) said the money will be used to improve existing services and infrastructure, such as baggage handling systems and the Skytrain, which connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3. There are also plans to refurbish the 16-year-old Terminal 3, though this is still at the planning stage.
Justifying the latest increase in airport charges, which will kick in from April 2025, senior executives at CAG said the airport needs to add more capacity in the short term to meet an expected increase in demand. With the opening of a third runway in the latter half of this decade, more flights will take off from and land at the airport, and more passengers will pass through it. Hence, CAG expects the four existing terminals at Changi to be operating close to their maximum handling capacity of 90 million passengers per year by the end of the decade. This is before the future Terminal 5, which can handle 50 million passengers a year, opens in the mid-2030s to relieve some of the pressure.
Changi Airport to increase charges, levy for passengers and airlines
Revenue from the fees will be used for new investments in the airport’s infrastructure to the tune of S$3 billion
Changi Airport will progressively increase its charges for passengers and arriving flights over the next six years. Fees payable by passengers departing from Changi Airport will rise from the current S$46.40 to S$58.40 (US$35 to US$44) by April 2030.
Transfer and transit fees, which are now S$6 per passenger, will triple to S$18. Airlines will also have to pay higher landing, parking and aerobridge charges from April next year, but they get a 50 per cent rebate on the increases for the first six months. The move will help offset investments in the airport’s infrastructure, which will cost S$3 billion, said Changi Airport Group and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Thursday (Nov 7). These investments include the addition of new Skytrain cars and the refurbishment of Terminal 3.
It will also cater to higher operating costs, including for manpower and energy. “In particular, wages for airport workers have increased over the past few years and are expected to continue growing in line with national initiatives such as the progressive wage model,” said the airport and CAAS in a press release. They added that the changes will also take into consideration earlier investments made during the COVID-19 pandemic when charges were held constant from 1 Apr 2020 to Nov 1, 2022. This was because planned increases were suspended to help airlines tide over the crisis.
Passenger fee hikes: How Changi Airport’s charges compare with those of other airports
From April 2027, fees levied on departing passengers at Changi Airport will go up in stages, reaching a total of $79.20 in April 2030 – a 21 per cent jump
An increase in the fees and levies that passengers will need to pay when departing from Changi Airport puts Singapore high on the list of the most expensive air hubs, said aviation analysts. While the increase in fees is necessary to fund infrastructural projects and offset rising costs, it may lead to a reduction in budget flights to smaller cities, where demand is more sensitive to price hikes. The higher fees may also put Changi Airport at a disadvantage against other regional hubs with lower costs, analysts told The Straits Times.
Already, the $65.20 in fees and taxes that travellers pay when booking a flight from the airport today is more than double those of Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. From April 2027, fees levied on departing passengers at Changi will go up in stages, reaching a total of $79.20 in April 2030 – a 21 per cent jump. Assistant Professor Awad Khireldin, who teaches air transport management at the Singapore Institute of Technology, said Singapore’s aviation charges remain competitive when compared with major air hubs in Europe and the US. But the latest fee hike may deter budget-conscious travellers and impact route planning and pricing for airlines, as Changi would appear to be costlier than regional hubs such as Bangkok and Hong Kong, he added.
ST looks at how the departure fees for passengers here stack up against those of other major airports:
- Singapore (Total: $65.20 before fee hike)
- Hong Kong (Total: $45 to $60 before hike)
- Manila (Total: $12 before hike)
- Amsterdam (Total: $100 before hike)
- Bangkok (Total: $30)
- Seoul (Total: $24)
- Dubai (Total: $45)
Changi Airport to raise fees to fund S$3 billion investment to improve services
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) director-general Han Kok Juan said on Thursday (Nov 7) that although travel has largely recovered, the airport has not been spared from increasing cost pressures
FEES at Singapore’s Changi Airport will be raised from 2025 to fund a S$3 billion investment to improve airport services, as well as to cover higher operating costs and investments made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Passenger fees are estimated to go up by 1 per cent or less for an economy-class ticket on most flights departing from or connecting through Singapore.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) director-general Han Kok Juan told the media on Thursday (Nov 7) that while travel has largely recovered, the airport has not been spared from increasing cost pressures. The investment, made over six years, will enable Changi Airport to stay competitive and meet increasing travel demand ahead of the opening of Terminal 5 in the mid-2030s, he added.
From Apr 1, 2027, the passenger service and security fee (PSSF) paid by passengers departing from Changi will go up by S$3 each year, for four years. The fee is now at S$46.40, up from S$35.40 in 2022 when hikes were last announced. The aviation levy, also payable by passengers and funds CAAS operations, will undergo a one-time increase of S$2 to S$10 on Apr 1, 2027. From Apr 1, 2025, the PSSF for transit passengers at Changi will rise S$3 each year, for three years. From Apr 1, 2028, it will go up by another S$1 a year for another three years. The fee has remained at S$6 since 2015, and was last reviewed in 2018. Airlines operating at Changi Airport will pay higher landing, parking and aerobridge (LPA) charges.
Changi Airport to increase charges for passengers & airlines from 2025 to fund upgrading works
It aims to fund a S$3 billion investment for enhancement works in Terminals 1 to 4 over next six years
Changi Airport will increase its airport charges progressively between 2025 to 2030 to fund upgrading works over the next six years. Changi Airport Group (CAG) said the increase is aimed at passengers departing from or transiting through Singapore, and airlines operating at the airport, according to a press release on Nov. 7.
The move aims to fund the group's investment of S$3 billion for enhancement works in terminals 1 to 4. CAG said the investment will be used to "improve services", such as baggage handling, check-in, immigration and Skytrain connections between terminals, and replace end-of-life systems. "The investments will help Changi Airport stay competitive and meet rising demand for air travel before Terminal 5 is operational in the mid-2030s," CAG added. The increase will also accommodate other operating costs, such as manpower, and cover other significant investments made during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some enhancement works include:
- The expansion of Terminal 1, 2 and check-in counter capacity in Terminal 3
- Skytrain subsystems will be replaced, including signalling and communications, which started operations in 2008 and are nearing end-of-life. New cars will also be added to provide additional capacity
- Upgrading of baggage handling systems at Terminal 1 to 3
- Additional check-in rows at Terminal 4 departure level
- A new rooftop Inter-Terminal Baggage Conveyance System connecting Terminal 1 to 3, creating a second pathway for passenger baggage to be transferred between the two terminals
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