All Nippon Airways moving to Changi Airport Terminal 2 in October

Singapore Changi Airport has been progressively reopening its largest passenger facility – Terminal 2 – since border relaxations in mid-2022 caused a significant spike in passenger traffic recovery, which has seen many airlines start using revamped sections of the terminal.

These have included the likes of Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss and United in recent months, and now there’s news of another Star Alliance carrier making the switch.

All Nippon Airways is moving back to T2

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has now announced that effective from 5th October 2023, it will be operating to and from Terminal 2 at Changi Airport once again, having last flown from the facility in April 2020, almost three-and-a-half years ago.

Do note that the first ANA arrival into T2 will be NH801 from Tokyo Narita at 12.35am on 5th October 2023, even though that flight departs on 4th October 2023.

For that flight and thereafter, all ANA arrivals and departures at Changi Airport will use Terminal 2.

Check-in will be at Row 8, adjacent to departure drop off Door 6.

The carrier has been operating at Terminal 1 since the temporary closure of Terminal 2, on 1st May 2020.

ANA’s Singapore schedule

ANA currently operates 21 weekly flights between Singapore and Tokyo, twice per day to and from Haneda (HND) and once per day to and from Narita (NRT), as outlined below.

ANA
Singapore Tokyo

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	NH802 787-9
SIN 06:15		NRT 14:30
	NH842 787-9
SIN 11:05		HND 19:15
	NH844 787-9
SIN 22:10		HND 06:30*

* Next day

ANA
Tokyo Singapore

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	NH843 787-9
HND 00:40		SIN 06:40
	NH841 787-9
HND 11:05		SIN 17:15
	NH801 787-9
NRT 18:15		SIN 00:35*

* Next day

Some timing changes apply from the start of the northern winter season on 29th October 2023, while the NH842/843 service downgauges to the smaller Boeing 787-8.

Changi T2 lounges

The move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 means some changes for ANA passengers when it comes to the pre-flight lounge situation.

The airline has been offering Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold travellers departing in any cabin on its flights access to the SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 1, and the same situation will soon apply in Terminal 2, with the SATS facility there printed on your lounge invitation.

What ‘in the know’ eligible passengers on ANA sometimes do is use the far superior lounges of Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines, which includes the latter carrier’s latest facilities in Terminal 3, though this involves a SkyTrain ride after clearing immigration.

• Business Class passengers can access the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class lounge
• KrisFlyer Elite Gold passengers can access the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold lounge (+1 guest travelling on the same flight)

ANA passengers will be able to use the reopened KrisFlyer Gold Lounge and SilverKris Lounges in Terminal 2 once the switchover takes place, though those pale in comparison to the newer T3 facilities.

Nonetheless, 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 from 5th October 2023 onwards, an even easier journey than it is to these lounges from T1.

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 dated format they had pre-pandemic.

In this case, the KrisFlyer Gold lounge is for Star Alliance Gold members departing on ANA in Economy or Premium Economy Class, while the SilverKris Business Class lounge is for those departing in Business Class.

Which airlines are now using T2?

ANA will become the 13th carrier to operate from Terminal 2 at Changi Airport following its post-COVID-19 reopening, joining recent additions like Ethiopian Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and United Airlines.

Here’s how the operator list looks as of 5th October 2023, in order of commencing operations at the reopened terminal following it’s two-year closure.

All Changi Airport T2 Airlines
(as of 5th October 2023)

Airline		Started T2 Operations*	Weekly Departures
	Singapore Airlines (SQ) Only South East Asia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka departures	13 October 2022	385
	Air India (AI)	18 October 2022	28
	Air India Express (IX)		13
	Royal Brunei Airlines (BI)	6 February 2023	9
	Lufthansa (LH)	9 February 2023	12
	Swiss International Air Lines (LX)		7
	Sichuan Airlines (3U)	17 February 2023	7
	Air Macau (NX)	23 March 2023	5
	Ethiopian Airlines (ET)	26 March 2023	8
	Firefly (FY)		14
	Malaysia Airlines (MH)	23 May 2023	70
	United Airlines (UA)	20 July 2023	14
	All Nippon Airways (NH)	5 October 2023	21

* Post T2’s COVID closure

Who still needs to move back?

Once Terminal 2 fully reopens later in October 2023, we expect all airlines operating at the facility prior to COVID-19 will probably make the move back progressively.

That means the following airlines can also be expected to relocate to T2 later this year, but at the time of writing are still using either T1 or T3 as their temporary home at Changi.

• ANA (T1, moving 5th October)
• Etihad Airways (T3)
• Indigo (T1)
• LOT Polish (not currently operating at Changi)

T2 will fully reopen in October 2023

As most of our readers already know, Changi T2 is currently in the process of receiving a full makeover, which CAG says boasts a “contemporary design concept… inspired by elements of nature”.

We’ve already seen this revamp taking shape in the reopened southern arrivals and departures area.

Ongoing enhancements in the transit area will include new dining concepts in a larger space, with better views of the runway.

Back in May 2023, Singapore’s Transport Minister announced that the northern wing of Changi Airport Terminal 2 will be back in action by October 2023, months ahead of the original schedule.

Indeed CAG has been systems testing the arrivals and departures process at the northern section of the terminal only this week, which even included a trial of the newly-revamped SIA First Class check-in lounge, boasting direct immigration access.

SIA’s check in desks will move back to the northern section of T2, nearer the MRT and SilverKris lounges, in due course.

We recently had a peek at the ‘Gourmet Garden’ at the south section of the T2 departures transit area, and it looks to be coming on nicely.

Ultimately once the northern wing of Terminal 2 is fully completed, the facility will be the airport’s largest, stealing T1’s thunder 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 operations through to the opening of Terminal 5, in the mid-2030s.

Changi Airport’s passenger numbers are now 89% of pre-COVID levels, so it’s no surprise that T2’s current southern section operation simply isn’t enough to relieve the strain now being seen at other terminals, leading to an accelerated reopening of the northern wing.

Changi Airport’s refreshed Terminal 2 is racing towards a full reopening in October 2023, and there’s now news of a 13th airline coming back to the facility, with ANA shifting its three-times-daily Tokyo services across from Terminal 1.

It’s good news for T1 crowding (and lack of gates at peak times), plus eligible ANA passengers will now have easier access to the SilverKris / KrisFlyer Elite Gold facilities in T2, though they have only had a minor revamp during the pandemic.

Luckily there remains the option to duck across to T3 on the SkyTrain and use SIA’s latest lounges there, provided you build in an additional 15 minutes or so to reach your T2 departure gate come boarding time.

More carriers will inevitably make the move to T2 as its revamp is completed from next month, when it will become the largest of all the terminals at Changi Airport, until the behemoth Terminal 5 opens in the mid-2030s.

(Cover Photo: Carlos Yudica / Shutterstock)