Changi Airport Group (CAG) has revealed that four more airlines will return to their former Terminal 2 home at Singapore Changi Airport this month, including Star Alliance carriers Lufthansa and Swiss, adding to existing flights by Singapore Airlines, Air India and Air India Express.
This forms part of the progressive move of airlines to the recently reopened southern wing of T2, as promised by CAG when the first operators moved back in October last year.
Terminal 2’s full revamp, which will ultimately see it become the largest at the airport, is set for completion in 2024, at which point we expect almost a full suite of its pre-pandemic carriers will have returned.
New T2 airlines
In an update to the airport’s summary of airlines at T2, both arriving and departing flights by the following carriers will use Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 from as early as Monday next week.
Airlines moving to Changi T2
(February 2023)
| Airline | Current Terminal |
Relocation to T2 | |
 |
Royal Brunei Airlines (BI) |
 |
6 February 2023 |
 |
Lufthansa (LH) |
 |
9 February 2023 |
 |
Swiss International Air Lines (LX) |
|
9 February 2023 |
 |
Sichuan Airlines (3U) |
|
17 February 2023 |
Royal Brunei flights will use Check-in Row 12, while Lufthansa, Swiss and Sichuan flights will check-in at Row 11.
So far only one of these airlines, Royal Brunei, has confirmed it is making the move, with Lufthansa, Swiss and Sichuan Airlines yet to make any formal statement that we can see, however GDS timetables already reflect operation to and from T2 for these carriers from the dates shown above as quoted by CAG.
All three of these carriers are operating daily at Changi (twice daily in the case of Lufthansa), with the exception of Sichuan Airlines, which operates only once weekly using Airbus A330-200s to and from Chengdu.
Even on days that Sichuan is operating, this will therefore add only a maximum of five flights to T2’s departure board:
- 00:05 – LX177 to Zurich (777-300ER)
- 15:50 – 3U3920 to Chengdu (A330-200)
- 21:25* – BI424 to Brunei (A320neo)
- 23:55 – LH791 to Munich (A350-900)
- 23:55 – LH779 to Frankfurt (747-8)
* Note: 12:10 departure Mon-Wed as BI422 instead of BI424
Lufthansa’s 364-seat Boeing 747-8, which started operating from Singapore in late October 2022 including a First Class cabin, will be the largest aircraft to use T2 since its partial reopening.
Who else is flying from T2?
Back in October 2022, all Singapore Airlines South East Asia departures and all arriving and departing flights operated by Air India and Air India Express also made the move to T2.
Existing Changi T2 Airlines
| Airline | Former Terminal |
Relocated to T2 | |
 |
Singapore Airlines (SQ) Only South East Asia departures |
|
13 October 2022 |
 |
Air India (AI) |
|
18 October 2022 |
|
Air India Express (IX) |
|
18 October 2022 |
Singapore Airlines flights can still arrive into Changi at T1, T2 or T3, regardless of their country of origin.
Who still needs to move back?
Terminal 2 has still not fully reopened, as works on the northern section are still ongoing, but ultimately we expect all airlines operating at T2 before COVID-19 to make the move back progressively between now and late 2024.
That means the following airlines can also be expected to relocate back in due course, but at the time of writing are still using either T1 or T3 as their temporary home at Changi.
- ANA (T1)
- Ethiopian Airlines (not currently operating)
- Etihad Airways (T3)
- Indigo (T1)
- LOT Polish (not currently operating)
- Malaysia Airlines (T1)
- United Airlines (T3)
Ethiopian Airlines is returning to Singapore from 25th March 2023, as we recently reported, though GDS shows no terminal allocation for the carrier’s flights at Changi just yet.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see the airline move straight back in to T2 for its four times weekly afternoon departures to Kuala Lumpur and four times weekly 2am departures to Addis Ababa.
Refreshed design
As you probably know, Changi T2 is currently in the process of receiving a full makeover with a brand new design, which we’ve already seen taking shape in the southern arrivals and departures area.
There are more of the latest design features like this in the reopened departures hall, which CAG says boasts a “contemporary design concept… inspired by elements of nature”.
Future enhancements in the transit area include new dining concepts in a larger space, with better views of the runway.
Ultimately once the northern wing of Terminal 2 is fully completed by 2024, the facility will be the airport’s largest, with a capacity for 28 million passengers per year, 5 million more than pre-renovation.
| Capacity of Changi’s Terminals (2020 – 2024) | ||
| Terminal | Capacity 2020 |
Capacity 2024 |
| T1 | 24m | 24m |
| T2 | 23m | 28m |
| T3 | 22m | 22m |
| T4 | 16m | 16m |
| Total | 85m | 90m |
A significant 15,500 square metres will be added to the terminal’s original floor space, and once completed the project will boost Changi’s annual passenger capacity to 90 million.
This will secure the airport’s passenger capacity through to the opening of Terminal 5 in the mid-2030s.
You can find out more about Terminal 2’s facilities, including current shopping and dining options, at CAG’s dedicated page here.
T2 goes automated
The reopened section of T2 features some of the latest technological enhancements seen at T1 and T4 in recent years, including automated check-in kiosks, where passengers can self-serve if they wish, and automated immigration clearance gates.
These primarily use facial recognition, rather than thumbprints, for identification – a definite plus given continued emphasis on hygiene and a ‘touchless’ journey following the pandemic.
T2 Lounges
Lufthansa and Swiss passengers will be able to use the reopened KrisFlyer Gold Lounge and SilverKris Lounges in Terminal 2, though there’s always the option to hop on the SkyTrain and take a 10-minute journey across to the newer SIA lounge facilities in T3, if they wish.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
We have recent reviews of the refreshed T2 KrisFlyer Gold and SilverKris Business Class lounges since they reopened back in October 2022, with some minor enhancements but more or less with the same format they had pre-pandemic.
In this case, the KrisFlyer Gold lounge is for Star Alliance Gold members departing on Swiss or Lufthansa in Economy or Premium Economy Class, while the SilverKris Business Class lounge is for those departing in Business Class.
First Class passengers can use the SilverKris First Class lounge.
The Ambassador Transit Lounge in T2 is available for other passengers, or those seeking access via a lounge membership scheme like Priority Pass, and is likely where Royal Brunei and Sichuan Airlines will be directing their premium guests.
Paid access is also available here.
Summary
Changi Airport Terminal 2 gets four more airlines this month, with Lufthansa, Swiss, Royal Brunei and Sichuan Airlines moving back to the facility from their temporary T1/T3 homes during COVID-19.
This will continue to help ease congestion in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and comes ahead of a more significant move for Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Australia flights from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 next month.
It leaves only seven former-T2 airlines yet to return to the newly upgraded facility, which we expect will happen progressively as refurbishment works are completed and the terminal is expanded over the next two years.
(Cover Photo: Lukas von Daeniken)
Small correction: Royal Brunei’s code is not RB, but BI.
Thanks, corrected!
I doubt Malaysia airlines will ever return to T2 given the OW presence in T1. It just doesnt make logistical sense.
It would make logical sense for MH to return to T2: 1. Better code sharing with SQ
2. Possibly lower costs to pay for lounge entry to SATS rather than to fellow OneWorld airlines operating the T1 lounges.
3. Co location with subsidiary Firefly.
I wonder how much of MH transit traffic at Changi is SQ codeshare / interline vs. Oneworld codeshare (BA, QF, QR, etc…). If the latter is more prominent then maybe T1 is a better bet for them.