Changi Airport hikes passenger fees to fund US$2.3B infrastructure upgrade plan

By Dat Nguyen November 8, 2024 | 12:29 am PT

Tourists visit the Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore on Sept. 7, 2023. Photo by AFP

Singapore plans to increase passenger and airline fees at Changi Airport over the next six years to support a SGD3 billion (US$2.3 billion) infrastructure upgrade across its four terminals and address rising operational costs.

Departing passengers from the airport, who are paying SGD$65.20 (US$49.31) in total fees now, will see the amount going up annually to reach $79.20 by 2030, or 21% higher.

The first hike will be imposed in April 2027, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Transiting passenger fees, which are $9 now, will more than double to reach $21 by 2030. Airlines will have to pay around 40% higher land and park their planes by 2030.

The increased income will be used to improve services and infrastructure, such as baggage handling systems and the Skytrain, which connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

"We have held back the increase, which needs to be made, for as long as we could," said Han Kok Juan, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

"We have kept the increase as small as possible, and we have tried to stage it out over many years," he added.

In the 12 months ending in September, Changi Airport welcomed 65.9 million passengers, against the 68.3 million handled in 2019.