March 7, 2007
Changi's T3 ready to open by next January SIA is the only confirmed tenant as other airlines are still considering move
By Aviation Correspondent, Karamjit Kaur
PREPARATIONS are in full swing for Changi Airport's Terminal 3 to open next January or February.
READY TO GO: Construction of the main T3 building is complete, while systems and flight tests will begin as early as the middle of the year. -- CHEW SENG KIMAlready, construction of the main seven-storey building, including three basement floors, has been completed.
And 6.5km of train tracks for the $135 million People Mover System connecting all three terminals have been laid. The network, to have separate tracks running through the restricted and public areas, will transport passengers between Terminals 2 and 3 in just three minutes.
Even the slip road from Airport Boulevard to Terminal 3 has been built, and trees have been planted along its length.
The CAAS is expected to award key contracts, including those for security systems to screen passengers and baggage, in the next few months.
Also hotly contested is the terminal's space for retail and food and beverage outlets.
Singapore Airlines (SIA), the only confirmed tenant of Terminal 3 so far, will move more than half of its operations out of Terminal 2 where it is currently housed, spokesman Stephen Forshaw said.
Affected services include long-haul flights to the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Passengers flying to the carrier's other destinations - mainly in the region - are likely to continue using Terminal 2, he said, adding that SIA will work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to 'minimise delays and maximise convenience' for those who have to move between terminals to catch connecting flights.
SIA's partial move out of Terminal 2 will make room for other airlines that now operate out of the 25-year-old Terminal 1.
Emirates has no plans to migrate from Terminal 1. British Airways and Qantas are also 'highly unlikely' to move to the recently upgraded Terminal 2, said a joint spokesman for the two carriers.
Other carriers, including those under the Star Alliance group of airlines such as United Airlines, Swiss Air, Asiana Airlines and All Nippon Airways, are still contemplating the offer made by the CAAS some months ago.
Mr Joseph Chia, United's station manager for Singapore and chairman of the Airline Operators' Committee representing more than 50 carriers that fly here, said the plan is to move as a group, if at all. He said: 'We share the same software systems for check-in and other services, so moving together will allow us to continue building synergies.'
Other factors - lounge access for passengers, for example - also need to be considered before a final decision is made.
A CAAS spokesman said it was now looking into allocating the airlines among the three terminals, and that it would do this based on the projected growth of SIA's operations, requests from other airlines and the need to balance traffic demands among the three terminals.
The Straits Times understands Terminal 3 is expected to handle more than 12 million passengers in its first year, based on an average 5-per-cent annual increase in total traffic. The total traffic handled by Changi last year was more than 35 million passengers.
To minimise glitches on opening day, systems and flight testing will begin as early as mid-year.
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