[Markcg]

I found it very strange that it constantly wins this award?!
Can someone tell me why? when..

1/. Almost always placed in 20 min holding for landing (or a lot longer!)
2/. 20 mins at least to clear immigration (or a lot longer!)
3/. Try transitting with a Chinese national?! they could not make it more difficult if they tried
4/. Orwellian speak on info boards – delayed flights are referred to as ‘re-timed’
5/. Long haul between terminals.
6/. Organising 500 passengers for an A380 flight was total debacle, no queues, all pushing through. poor announcements. It was like they had never done it before

For my money, Hong Kong runs rings around it!

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Londonfrog

[stevescoots]

I cannot say i have had any of those happen to me when going through Singers.

1/. Almost always placed in 20 min holding for landing (or a lot longer!) Never had that myself
2/. 20 mins at least to clear immigration (or a lot longer!) 20 mins for immigration is very good for most airports if you are non resident or dont have fast track
3/. Try transitting with a Chinese national?! they could not make it more difficult if they tried. I have with Chinese nationals and not had an issue
4/. Orwellian speak on info boards – delayed flights are referred to as ‘re-timed’ cannot say i have noticed that
5/. Long haul between terminals. I agree with this, however as a large airport its no suprise
6/. Organising 500 passengers for an A380 flight was total debacle, no queues, all pushing through. poor announcements. It was like they had never done it before. That’s down to the airline ground staff, not the airport

I also prefer HKG, but its a smaller airport and i have fast track but HKG is not without its issues either

[GivingupBA]

[quote quote=927337]I found it very strange that it constantly wins this award?! Can someone tell me why? when.. [/quote]

That is quite different to my experience – I have been many, many times through Singapore airport and have always found it to be very good (it’s one of my two favourite airports in the world – the other being Hong Kong).

[Gold-2K]

I agree departing is a nightmare. Security at every gate is an awful set-up especially when you are boarding a full A380. Lines are so long they block the whole terminal. Whenever I have departed SIN security takes around 25 minutes, painful!

Agree HKG is much better!

[K1ngston]

Having lived in Singapore for many years ( only recently moved to Phuket) I have never encountered any of the things you mention, but I have my own reasons for the airport to frustrate but it is still much better than 90% of airports elsewhere!

1. As mentioned their insistence to have security at each gate is a complete disaster and as previously mentioned when loading a larger plane its a complete nuisance. In fact in the new T4 they have opted for centralised security which actually makes the experience much better.

2. They have started a trend to have you go through security when getting off planes which is a complete nonsense and nobody when asked can explain why, especially if you are transiting and are asked to go through security and then having to go through security again at the gate… Very annoying

3. They are actually currently building Terminal 5 which will be one of the largest terminals in the world and the plan then would be to consolidate SQ into one terminal I agree with the OP the spread of different LH flights across the terminals can be annoying

Having said that 75% of the time you can be off a plane and in a taxi or car having collected your luggage within 20 mins there are not many airports that can boast that. They are slowly upgrading the e gates so life will get easier and if you happen to fly CX from Singapore they have moved to T4 and its a pleasure, bright clean, centralised security does definitely make it smoother.

[adama]

Baffling to me too, and I use it 3-4 times a month.

I cannot fathom the apparent fascination with carpeting every floor surface, which makes pushing a cart or wheeling a carry-on difficult.

It’s often too warm, the non-airline lounges are woeful (and the SQ lounges are not much better IMHO), and Terminal 1 in particular (which BA/Qantas/Thai operate from) is old, and it’s frustrating to have to show your passport and boarding pass at least 5-6 times to various officials because the security scanning is at the gate.

I also agree the circling time for inbounds is increasing, the immigration checks can be super quick or really long, and it’s also near impossible to get a taxi at peak times or when it’s raining.

I’d rather they focused less on waterfalls and cinemas, and more on efficiency and effectiveness!

Hong Kong is better by a long way.

[philsquares]

Having worked for SQ for over 10 years in the pointy end of the aircraft, I can confirm there is a logic to going through security when you get off the flight. The procedure is not done for every flight but only on “special” flights which come from destinations where there is a high risk of drugs being taken into Singapore. Although you might be transferring from one flight to another, that doesn’t mean you can’t meet someone who is exiting the terminal and could act as a courier. The cabin crew makes several announcements regarding the penalties of being caught with drugs. However, I witnessed, on more than one occasion people getting stopped with illegal substances on their person. So, although it makes no sense to you, it does serve a purpose.

Personally, I think Changi is a great airport. Perfect, far from it. But, if people knew what went on behind the scenes regarding security they would be amazed it doesn’t take hours to get out of Changi. I won’t say anything more than that.

‘

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[capetonianm]

I have transited twice, beautiful airport, but encountered rudeness and arrogance from three unrelated parties, including a lounge dragon, and have no wish to return.

Singapore Airlines however were fantastic.

[Inquisitive]

I use Changi at least twice a month for the last 20+ years and use other airports in all part of the world including Hong Kong at least twice a month. And from my experience all these airports, Changi deserved to be the best airport in the world.

The other posters already listed the reasons, it is likely OP had experienced an one off situation and that too unbelievable that all the items listed happened at one time.

Also based on my heavy travel schedule, I can vouch that I like the security check at gates. To me it is safest as airport transfer areas are heavily crowded with menu non-passengers and the last minute check is the best.

Also I travelled A380 a lot, agree that once or twice the queue may looks a little bit long, but I have not faced any situation where I had to wait more than 10 min. In most case I clear security in 5 min and that is lot faster than many airports where I get a priority card for security.
(Clarification: I do not work or have no remote attachment with Changi Airport)

[_glbetrkkr_]

Well, not for nothing, but these “awards” are never given based on the merits you’ve mentioned. Read any article and it’s about indoor cinemas, availability of shopping, and waterfalls, not actual operational gauges.

I may be in the 1% here, but I LOVE HND Airport. There’s centralized security, it’s open and airy, plenty of food options and good lounge options too. Plus, it’s not too far from central Tokyo.

Re carpet on the floor, I agree it makes dragging a bag a “drag” (plenty of pun intended).

[nevereconomy]

I have waited nearly an hour at immigration a couple of times, hate the gate security deal and find the people working there rather robotic, which of course is true of Singapore in general. When it is all working well it is very quick to get through on arrival, but most times with hand luggage I am out of Manchester T3 very fast, too…..

[K1ngston]

Thank you for your explanation on the security when getting off the plane, so let me ask a couple of supplemental questions if I may?

1. If its for illegal substances why do I have to take my laptop out of the bag?
2. I was bringing some cigarettes for a pal of mine and we had the check and the cigarettes where in my case and they didn’t even question me about them, is it purely to do with drugs and if so my first question applies
3. For me its done purely as a holier than thou with destinations they believe do not give as much attention to security (ie Jakarta, Manila) and nothing else hence why I was able to bring cigarettes into the country and they were obviously spotted and allowed through…
4. Why is it only Singapore and nowhere else (except for Jakarta with all SQ flights coming in for tit for tat purposes) the whole region gives distinct warnings about drugs and the penalties as severe?

[philsquares]

I would assume by your response to my reply, you have spent very little time in Singapore. The search on the exit of the aircraft is for two things. Drugs are the main driver and then there is an ongoing effort to halt the illegal trade of illegal animals.

You take your laptop out so they can x-ray it separately. And the real reason is that those are the rules. I lived in Singapore for over 5 years and worked for SQ for over 10 years. They are very inflexible and if they don’t think of the idea, it can’t be a good idea. That is just the way it is and it can be extremely frustrating for a Westerner at times but you just have to get used to it.

Cigarettes are not a big deal. Although I have seen them confiscated and the more argumentative the person got, the more the search went on, so he had a lesson to learn.

I wouldn’t say it is a tit for tat situation, but security in Changi is very tight. You don’t see most of it and if places like LHR were run like SIN, it would be great. But that will never happen.

As far as the warnings go, Singapore actually follows through with them. I have had layovers in SYD and MEL, when warnings were put out for the crews about going out because an Ozzie was going to be executed. Most were from Vietnam who were not Australian citizens but that made no difference. LKY created a very interesting country. I tell people it’s like Disneyland with a death penalty.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Tasclean, stevescoots

[stevescoots]

[quote quote=927701]Thank you for your explanation on the security when getting off the plane, so let me ask a couple of supplemental questions if I may?

1. If its for illegal substances why do I have to take my laptop out of the bag?

2. I was bringing some cigarettes for a pal of mine and we had the check and the cigarettes where in my case and they didn’t even question me about them, is it purely to do with drugs and if so my first question applies

3. For me its done purely as a holier than thou with destinations they believe do not give as much attention to security (ie Jakarta, Manila) and nothing else hence why I was able to bring cigarettes into the country and they were obviously spotted and allowed through…

4. Why is it only Singapore and nowhere else (except for Jakarta with all SQ flights coming in for tit for tat purposes) the whole region gives distinct warnings about drugs and the penalties as severe?[/quote]

they wont be interested in the fags unless you pass customs without declaring, up to that point you have not broken any laws

[Arkair]

Last time I flew thru Singapore i had seat by door. We parked 3 gates from Immigration. My bags were already on carousel by time i reached it and i was thru customs in minutes. Great airport!

[Author]

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