Changi Airport is the main international airport of Singapore, and functions as one of the most significant aviation gateways in the Asia-Pacific region. Situated within the Changi planning area in the eastern part of the country, the airport is approximately east from the Central Area and occupies a site spanning about . The airport is a base for more than 100 international carriers with scheduled services linking Singapore to destinations across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. As of 2025, Changi Airport handled about 70 million passengers and ranked the 16th busiest airport by passenger traffic as well as the 4th busiest international airport by seat volume based on OAG's records.
Changi Airport serves as the headquarters for several aviation and ground handling entities. It is the home base of Singapore Airlines, the nation's flag carrier, along with its associated subsidiaries Singapore Airlines Cargo and Scoot, a regional low-cost carrier. The airport also hosts the operations of BOC Aviation, a major aircraft leasing firm. Ground and catering services are provided by SATS and dnata Singapore (formerly CIAS), whose facilities are located within the airport precincts. Owing to Singapore's central geographical location and high volume of international transit traffic, the airport has also been designated a principal cargo hub by FedEx Express, reinforcing its logistical and commercial importance within global air transport networks. The airport is managed by the Changi Airport Group, a corporate entity owned by the Singapore Government while solely maintained by the Ministry of Finance.
The airfield infrastructure comprises three operational runways, each measuring in length. While the main airport code is WSSS, the third runway, designated 02R/20L, was formerly part of the adjacent Changi Air Base (East) and used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), carrying the ICAO code WSAC. The terminal complex includes four passenger terminals, of which Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are directly connected to Jewel Changi Airport, a mixed-use development featuring retail, dining and entertainment facilities integrated with airport infrastructure. A fifth terminal is currently under construction.
Overview
Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines flying to 170 cities in around 100+ countries and territories worldwide. About 7,000 flights arrive or depart at Changi each week, or one every 80 seconds.
For the 2025 full-year figures published by the airport, the airport handled 69,980,000 passengers (a 3.4% increase compared to 2024), the highest in its 44-year history. This made it the fourth busiest international airport in the world and the seventh busiest in Asia Pacific. In December 2025, Changi Airport registered a total of 6.3 million passenger movements, with 20 December marking the year’s busiest day at 223,000 passengers across its terminals. In addition to being an important passenger hub, the airport is also one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, handling 2.08 million tonnes of air freight in 2025. Aircraft movements, comprising both landings and take-offs, increased 2.2% year-on-year to 374,000 movements in 2025.
The airport has won over 700 awards since its opening, including 28 "Best Airport" awards in 2025 alone. Changi Airport's efforts to mitigate the effects of ageing infrastructure include continual physical upgrades to its existing terminals and building new facilities to maintain its high standards in airport service quality. In 2026, Changi Airport also ranked fourth as one of the top 10 brands in Singapore in YouGov's Best Brands Rankings 2026 report.
History
Conception
Prior to Changi, Singapore's main international airport was located at Paya Lebar. It had opened in 1955 with a single runway and a small passenger terminal, having itself replaced the previous Kallang Airport that began operations in 1937. The decision to move the airport from Paya Lebar to Changi was based on a number of factors. With the growth in global aviation transport, the airport was facing congestion problems. Its inability to cope with the rising traffic became critical by the 1970s; annual passenger numbers rose dramatically from 300,000 in 1955 to 1.7 million in 1970 and to 4 million in 1975. As a result, there was a need to accommodate the growing demand for air travel, the desire to establish Singapore as a global aviation hub, and the need to modernise the country's air transport infrastructure.
The Singaporean government had two options – expand the existing airport at Paya Lebar or build a new airport at another location. After extensive studies, a decision was made in 1972 to keep the airport at Paya Lebar, as recommended by aviation consultants. Plans were made for the building of a second runway and an extensive redevelopment and expansion to the passenger terminal building. A year later, however, the plans were reviewed again as the pressure to expand the airport eased because of the 1973 oil crisis.
Concerned that the existing airport was located in an area with potential for urban growth, which would physically hem it in on all sides, the government subsequently decided in 1975 to build a new airport at the eastern tip of the main island at Changi, at the existing site of Changi Air Base. However, as there was an increase in traffic, the airport still had to be expanded at that time. In addition, aircraft could fly over the sea, avoiding noise pollution issues within residential areas and avoid disastrous consequences on the ground in the event of an air mishap. Formerly known as the Singapore International Airport, the airport in Paya Lebar was subsequently converted for military use and renamed as Paya Lebar Air Base.
Construction The original master plan for Changi Airport involved constructing a dual-terminal and dual-runway configuration over two phases with provisions for another two passenger terminals in the future. Phase 1 included the construction for the first passenger terminal, the first runway reusing and upgrading the main runway of Changi Air Base, 45 aircraft parking bays, support facilities and structures, including a large maintenance hangar, a fire station, workshops and administrative offices, an airfreight complex, two cargo agents buildings, in-flight catering kitchens and an control tower. Construction for the second phase would commence immediately after the completion of Phase 1 and include the second runway, 23 new aircraft parking bays in addition to the existing 45 bays, a second fire station and a third cargo agent building.
Changi Airport commenced commercial operations on 1 July 1981. Its first flight, Singapore Airlines SQ101, touched down that day at 7:10:00am Singapore Time with 140 passengers from Kuala Lumpur. It officially opened five months later on 29 December 1981. The airport ended its first year of operations with 12.1 million passengers, close to 200,000 tonnes of air freight handled and 63,100 aircraft movements. Subsequent phases opened progressively within the next few decades, with Terminal 2 opening for passenger traffic in 1990, Terminal 3 in 2008, and Terminal 4 in 2017. Terminal 5 is expected to open in mid-2030s.
Terminals Passenger terminals Changi Airport has four main passenger terminals arranged with Jewel located in the centre of Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Currently, the airport has an operational capacity of 90 million passengers per annum (mppa) across four terminals.
TerminalDate of openingLocationTerminal 11 July 1981Northern endTerminal 222 November 1990Eastern endTerminal 39 January 2008Western endTerminal 431 October 2017Southern endTerminal 5Mid-2030sSoutheastern end
The former JetQuay CIP Terminal site is being redeveloped into a new private terminal, which is expected to open in mid-2027.
The short-lived Budget Terminal was opened on 26 March 2006 and closed on 25 September 2012 to make way for Terminal 4.
Future terminals and projects Terminal 5 (T5) is currently under construction. Lawrence Wong, the Prime Minister of Singapore and Minister of Finance, officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for Changi Airport T5 on 14 May 2025. The new terminal is expected to be ready by the mid-2030s.
Terminal 5 is expected to handle 50 million passenger movements per annum for Changi Airport. It will be built on reclaimed land to the east of the present terminals. It will be partially funded through an increased levy. KPF Singapore with Heatherwick Studio and Architects 61 will provide architectural services. Arup Singapore, Mott MacDonald Singapore and Surbana Jurong Consultants will provide engineering services while DP Architects will provide retail design services. The former Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the Changi Terminal 5 project was delayed by at least 2 years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mixed-use facilities
Jewel Changi Airport, which opened on 17 April 2019, is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex interconnecting Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Announced in 2013, it is a new terminal-like structure that is intended to simultaneously be a mixed-use complex. It is situated on a 3.5-hectare site where the Terminal 1 car park used to reside, which has since been moved underground. Jewel was developed by Jewel Changi Airport Trustee Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping mall business, CapitaLand Mall Asia. The project cost S$1.7 billion.
Part of this project was planned to help expand Terminal 1 to handle 24 million passengers per year by 2018 with stand-alone check-in facilities and lounges. The indoor waterfall (named "Rain Vortex") in the structure holds the World Record for the tallest indoor waterfall in the world at 40m high, cascading down 7 storeys.
Cargo terminal The Air Hub & Cargo Development department of the Changi Airport Group (CAG) manages the Changi Airfreight Centre, which is located to the north of the airport premises.
In 2025, Changi Airport handled 2,080,000 tonnes of air freight, achieving one of its strongest cargo performance on record. The top five air cargo markets in 2025 were China, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and India.
Recent cargo volumes at Changi Airport have been heavily driven by global demand for semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) technology, electric vehicles, and cleantech.
Changi Airport has been honored frequently at the Asian Freight Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards, winning "Best Airport in Asia" for over 27 consecutive years. This award is determined via votes from Cargonews readers and authenticated by an independent auditor. Changi Airport has also been inducted into the Cargonews Asia Hall of Fame for its "sustained commitment to service and efficiency" as a premier airfreight hub. Gallery
Operations Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CAG) was formed on 16 June 2009 upon the corporatisation of Singapore Changi Airport by Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) as the licensee and operator of the airport.
Passenger operations As the airport only handles international passenger traffic, all terminals in operation are equipped with immigration-processing facilities for international travel.
After recovering from a drop in passenger traffic as a result of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, the airport saw rapid growth in traffic, which hit the 30-million mark for the first time in 2004. In March 2008, prior to the full effect of the 2008 financial crisis on the global economy, the airport was predicted to handle 50 million passengers by 2012 due to the opening of casinos in Singapore and the phased liberalisation of the ASEAN aviation sector. As predicted, the airport surpassed the 50-million mark in 2012.