Channel NewsAsia - 35 minutes
ago
Singapore opens
new airport terminal
SINGAPORE Singapore on Wednesday opened an ultramodern new
airport terminal that industry analysts say will reinforce the
citystates position as a regional aviation hub.
A Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco became the first to
land at Terminal 3 at about 12pm local time, a spokesperson for the
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which operates Changi
Airport, said.
"We have received the first arrivals," the spokesperson said.
Built at a cost of S$1.75 billion, Terminal 3 offers 380,000 square
metres of space in a sevenstorey building.
It can handle 22 million passengers a year, bringing Changis total
capacity to about 70 million, CAAS said.
Terminal 3 will add 28 aerobridge gates to Changi, with up to eight
designed to handle the worlds biggest passenger plane, the
superjumbo Airbus A380.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) in October became the worlds first
airline to fly the doubledecker A380 and is the first to operate
from Terminal 3.
With shiny granite floor tiles and carpeted lounges, Terminal 3 has
the ambience of a fivestar hotel. Trees and plants dot the
building, which boasts a fivestorey vertical garden with
waterfalls.
Analysts say the new terminal will boost Changis appeal
particularly compared with its key challenger in Bangkok, which was
plagued with problems after opening in 2006.
"It will push Singapore further ahead of its rivals," said Shukor
Yusof, of Standard and Poors Equity Research.
Terminal 3 is more than twice as large as the 140,000squaremetre
second terminal which opened last June at Hong Kong International
Airport.
Aviation industry competition is intensifying in a region where
airline passenger growth is projected to increase faster than the
global average. AFP/ir
