Last month Changi followed many major airports around the world by consolidating its terminal capacity in light of decimated passenger demand due to the global coronavirus pandemic, shuttering Terminal 2 from May 2020 for 18 months.
At the time the Changi Airport Group was already priming us for the next likely step in this regard – the temporary suspension of operations at Terminal 4.
“In view of the very small number of flights at Terminal 4 (T4), operations at the terminal have been scaled down considerably with a small number of aircraft boarding gates kept in use and shops allowed to close early after the last flight for the day. If the remaining airlines at T4 choose to suspend or adjust their flight schedule, CAG will also consider suspending operations at T4 temporarily but with the objective of restarting operations quickly when airlines confirm the resumption of flights.”
Changi Airport Group, 6th April 2020
Terminal 4 will close
This morning the airport confirmed in a media release that Terminal 4 will be temporarily closing from 16th May 2020, with existing airlines moving to Terminals 1 and 3, set to become the only two operational facilities at the airport from this weekend.
This unsurprising move will of course further help CAG reduce operating costs, including cleaning and utilities.
“From 16 May 2020, Terminal 4 (T4) operations will be temporarily suspended in view of the small number of flights still operating in the terminal. Airlines currently based in T4 will operate out of Terminals 1 (T1) or 3 (T3) instead. With this, the stores and restaurants in T4 will close and the shuttle bus service connecting to T3 will be suspended until operations in T4 resume. The timing of this will depend on when air travel demand picks up and on the requirements of airlines seeking to relaunch flights at Changi Airport.”
Changi Airport Group, 12th May 2020