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The departure hall of Terminal 4 (T4) of Changi Airport in Singapore.
Photographer: Nicky Loh / Bloomberg
Photographer: Nicky Loh / Bloomberg
Changi Airport Group said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is not diminishing, as officials behind the world’s best airport warned of an “overwhelming” period ahead.
Changi’s passenger traffic for the fiscal year ending in March declined for the first time in more than a decade as a drop in the last two months of the period wiped out previous gains, heralding a further decline. deep. To prepare for “a protracted crisis,” Changi suspended operations at two terminals to save on operating costs as flights fell to their lowest levels in history.
“The battle with Covid-19 has only just begun,” the company said in its annual report. “The future looks bleak with the situation showing no signs of abating.”
A woman walks past an empty check-in area at Singapore’s Changi Airport Terminal 3 on March 17.
Photographer: Wei Leng Tay / Bloomberg
According to the International Air Transport Association, 25 million jobs are at risk in airlines and associated businesses such as travel and tourism. A third of the world’s 26,000 airliners remain on the ground, parked in deserts or lined up in rows along the runway, says aviation data provider Cirium.
Amid all the sadness in May, Changi was voted the best airport in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to a Skytrax ranking. Changi Airport opened in 2019 Jewel, a shopping and entertainment complex with 1.5 million square feet of shops and attractions, including a rainforest, a hedge maze, and the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
But the annual report revealed a grim picture of a world-class facility reduced to a fraction of its normal activity since the early days of the pandemic.
To conserve cash, the company has implemented pay cuts of up to 30% for management and staff, and recommended that no dividends be paid during the year. It has also suspended construction of a fifth terminal for at least two years.
Earnings plummeted 36% to S $ 435 million ($ 319 million) due to an impairment charge from Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, which owns a 51% stake, and was exacerbated by the collapse of travel international The Jewel shopping and entertainment complex helped boost revenue 2.6% to S $ 3.1 billion in the period.
Healthcare officials monitor arriving passengers at a temperature checkpoint at Singapore’s Changi Airport.
Photographer: Wei Leng Tay / Bloomberg
The world’s airports are also contracting the coronavirus
The travel recovery “depends largely on how countries around the world manage border controls, the relaxation of air transport requirements and the development of viable medical treatments for the virus,” he said.
Changi has facilitated cargo flights to enable the flow of the global supply chain, especially for vital products like food and medical supplies. To aid in the battle to contain Covid-19 in Singapore dormitories that house foreign workers, some of the airport’s infrastructure for emergencies, such as victim clean-up stations, was converted into isolation facilities with infrastructure and amenities.
