Singapore Changi Airport has revealed new information regarding the impending Terminal 4 (T4), which it states will feature design and process innovations to help improve passengers’ travel experience, raise operational efficiency and manpower productivity for airlines and airport personnel.
T4 will be built on the site of the former budget terminal (BT). The structure will be a two-storey, 25-metre-high building. This makes it about seven times larger than the old BT, thereby allowing it to serve both full-service and low-cost carriers.
Terminal exterior
T4 will see the extensive roll-out of self-service kiosks that allow for easier automation of check-in, bag drop, immigration clearance and boarding procedures.
Dubbed the FAST (Fast And Seamless Travel) initiative, the self-service kiosks allow passengers to check-in without waiting in queues. Airport agents will be available to assist those unfamiliar with the options. According to Changi, the move is particularly necessary in Singapore as the country faces a very tight labour market.
Check-in area with self-service kiosks
The main attraction of the new terminal is a 300 metre long Central Galleria that separates the public area from the restricted zone. Featuring a transparent concept, the Galleria will provide full visibility from the check-in hall to the transit lounge.
Based on public feedback, the transit lounge area will also feature local culture and a heritage-theme design – with many retails stores baring the facade of old Peranakan shop houses.
Retail store concept featuring Peranakan shop houses facade
At launch, T4 will deliver 21 contact stands with aerobridges – 17 for narrow-body aircraft and four for wide-body.
T4 will be designed mainly for origin-destination traffic. However, a free airside shuttle will connect the new terminal to T2. The airport group hopes this will help to cater for passengers with connections on non-T4 airlines.
Departure boarding pier
With a gross floor area of 195,000 sqm, T4 has the ability to handle 16 million passenger movements annually. In turn, this will bring Changi Airport’s passenger capacity to 82 million a year. The expected increase in demand for aircraft parking space has also led the group to announce that a further 17 narrow-body and nine wide-body stands will be built at a land plot south of Terminal 3.
T4 is expected to open in 2017. Meanwhile, the airport has been rapidly expanding and improving its existing services. This year alone has seen the introduction of a new themed garden in Terminal 2 (see here), along with the plans for a new mega-complex (see here).
For more information, visit www.changiairport.com
Clement Huang
