Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 3 opens for business - Singapore's Online Community

**Voodoo Vince** · 09-01-2008, 11:53 PM

Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 3 opens for business
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 January 2008 1410 hrs

SINGAPORE : Singapore Changi Airport's ultra-modern Terminal 3 - the largest and most expensive of Changi's terminals - opened its doors for business on Wednesday, amid much fanfare.

The S$1.75 billion terminal adds a capacity of 22 million passengers a year.

This brings the airport's total annual capability, in one of the fastest growing aviation regions in the world, to about 70 million passengers.

First to land at Terminal 3 at around noon was SQ001, a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco. It was an unexpected welcome for many of the passengers.

One passenger said: "We just got off the plane, so (we're) looking forward to having a look around before we leave."

Another added: "Nice deep carpets... feels very comfortable." A third said: "Convenient. I think also it makes me happy - lots of shops for shopping."

Transport Minister Raymond Lim said: "I am delighted with the commencement of operations of Terminal 3. Air travel in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be robust in the years ahead. And with Terminal 3, Changi Airport will be in a strong position to benefit from this and will strengthen Singapore's aviation hub status.

Over 50 trial flights, including over 20 SIA flights, have been carried out at Terminal 3 to test out its operational readiness since last year.

Singapore Airlines, the main carrier operating out of Terminal 3, also took the chance to show off its new lounge, which will now have dedicated check-in and immigration clearance for First Class passengers.

However, the carrier also had to take some flak for its operations. As it now operates from Terminals 2 and 3, its passengers will only find out for sure which terminal they are arriving at two hours before the plane lands.

Passengers have said that it is confusing. However, SIA said it is being done in the interests of efficiency.

Stephen Forshaw, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Singapore Airlines, said: "The reality is that if we do any other system, then we're looking at having to transfer empty aircraft across the airfield, which is going to contribute to delays in departures, which is not in the interests of customers.

"So it's going to take a bit of time to get used to - how they are going to work out the arrivals system. But the arrival notifications are very good - there's the Teletext, website, telephone number."

For now, only Singapore Airlines is flying out of Terminal 3. Four other carriers will join it in March.

Meanwhile, at Wednesday's ceremony, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore donated about S$230,000 raised from the Terminal 3 Open House and other activities to charity. - CNA/ms

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...321525/1/.html

**Voodoo Vince** · 09-01-2008, 11:57 PM

Glitch-free opening for Terminal 3, almost...
By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent

With shiny granite floor tiles and carpeted lounges, Terminal 3 has the ambience of a five-star hotel. -- PHOTOS: (ST) MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN, LIM SIN THAI, (REUTERS) VIVEK PRAKASH

SOME travellers turned up at the wrong terminal but apart from the minor confusion, Changi Airport's Terminal 3 got off to a glitch-free start when it opened for business on Wednesday.

First to land at the spanking new $1.75 billion facility at 11.50am was Singapore Airlines Flight 001 which came in from San Francisco via Hong Kong.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) director-general Lim Kim Choon, were there to welcome the more than 350 passengers.

Mr Lim later told reporters that the new terminal, which will increase the airport's annual handling capacity to about 70 million passengers, puts Changi in a good position to tap on the region's growth.

He said: 'Air travel in the Asia-Pacific is expected to be robust in the years ahead and with Terminal 3, Changi Airport will be in a strong position to benefit from this.'

The opening of the new seven-storey facility will also help strengthen Singapore's aviation hub status, he said.

SIA is the first carrier to operate out of Terminal 3.

On Wednesday, there were 27 departures and 37 arrival flights - about half the total operations of the Singapore carrier which continues to also operate out of Terminal 2.

Four other airlines - China Eastern, Qatar Airways, Jet Airways and United - will join SIA at the new facility around March.

At 380,000sqm, Terminal 3 is Changi's biggest. Terminal 2 covers 358,000sqm, and Terminal 1, just over 280,000sqm.

Travellers - even those who went to the wrong terminal at first - gave the new kid on the block two thumbs up.

Miss Louise McCarthy, 26, a beauty therapist living in London turned up at Terminal 2 but was told by airport guides deployed by the CAAS that her flight was taking off at the new terminal instead.

It was a small problem as she and her companion got to the new terminal 'very quickly' by skytrain.

The rest including the checking-in was a breeze she said, adding: 'The system is really efficient. Terminal 3 is very impressive - very spacious and airy. It is definitely unlike Heathrow, which is so busy all the time.'

Ms Ng Lee Hong, 44, a business director at United States-based Agilent Technologies which specialises in measurement tools for industry use said: 'As someone who travels regularly, it's the little things that impress me.

'For example, when I stepped off the aeroplane ramp into the airport, I noticed that the carpeting was especially soft. After flying for 20 hours, any sort of comfort is welcome, no matter how small.'

SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw said that while every effort will be made to ensure that travellers get to the right terminal, some minor confusion is unavoidable in the early days.

But to put things in perspective, even if people do end up at the wrong terminal, it takes no more than two or three minutes to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 via the new People Mover System.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2...ry_194390.html

**vgohyk** · 10-01-2008, 12:19 AM

I have yet to visit the new T3.
Since it's now finally opened for business, I guess I will pop by the place soon!

shingshing · 10-01-2008, 02:33 AM

Me too, haven visit yet. :p

**Miss QQ** · 11-01-2008, 07:44 AM

Changi's T3 latest blow to Bangkok's air-hub ambitions
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Sto...ry_194895.html

	Quote:
	Changi's T3 latest blow to Bangkok's air-hub ambitions Problem-plagued Suvarnabhumi may miss out on air traffic growth BANGKOK - BANGKOK is losing more ground in the battle to become South-east Asia's aviation hub to rival Singapore, and may miss out on the benefits arising from surging air traffic growth. The Bangkok Post reported aviation experts as saying that the city's Suvarnabhumi Airport may suffer after Singapore officially opened the US$1.22 billion (S$1.75 billion) Terminal 3 (T3) on Wednesday which will raise Changi Airport's handling capacity to 70 million passengers a year. The 155 billion baht (S$7.5 billion) Suvarnabhumi is still plagued by operating troubles and construction flaws stemming from its premature opening in September 2006. And the trouble is only set to get worse. Crowding problems will likely reach a critical point this year when the airport hits its designed capacity of 45 million passengers a year, the Bangkok Post said. Furthermore, the plan to expand Suvarnabhumi remains unclear. The government has been unable to spell out a clear policy on whether the old Don Muang Airport should also handle international traffic to relieve congestion at Suvarnabhumi. 'If an airport doesn't have the capacity to accommodate growth, airlines and passengers will end up going to an airport that has this capacity. Singapore is ready to handle the additional passengers,' the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said. T3's opening will enhance Changi's position as the region's air hub, enabling it to meet the 5.9 per cent annual growth rate anticipated in the Asia-Pacific region between 2007 and 2011. That translates into 300 million additional passengers in Asia over the next five years, noted Mr Albert Tjoeng, Iata's Asia-Pacific spokesman. Airports in Asia need to continue planning and investing in additional capacity to keep pace with expected traffic growth and ensure that the capacity is efficiently utilised, said the Geneva-based organisation. However, Mrs Kulya Pakakrong, a senior executive vice-president at Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), downplayed the impact of Changi's expansion on Suvarnabhumi. 'Airlines and passengers going to Singapore represent different market groups, mostly involving corporate travellers, while those coming to Thai airports are largely tourists,' she said. 'It is those passengers who cause airlines to fly to Bangkok,' she added, noting that the state-controlled airport monopoly kept a careful eye on what its regional competitors were up to.

**Miss QQ** · 11-01-2008, 07:50 AM

SIA's A380 plane gets stuck on grass verge at Changi Airport’s T3
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...321865/1/.html

	Quote:
	SIA's A380 plane gets stuck on grass verge at Changi Airport’s T3 By Wong Siew Ying/Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia \| Posted: 10 January 2008 2346 hrs SINGAPORE : A Singapore Airlines A380 plane accidentally ended on the grass verge off the tarmac at Changi Airport's new Terminal 3 on Thursday. SIA Airbus A380 Flight SQ221 involved in the incident was scheduled to depart Singapore for Sydney at 8.30pm. SIA says a tow truck used to push back the aircraft experienced some hydraulic failure. The truck disconnected from the plane. The plane then rolled off the tarmac, onto a grass verge. The airline says the plane was not under its own power at the time. The aircraft's 446 passengers disembarked so the plane can be positioned back onto the tarmac. SIA says three-quarters of the passengers have been put on a replacement flight to Sydney on a Boeing 747 aircraft, which took off slightly past midnight. The rest were put on flights to other destinations in Australia. Some passengers stayed overnight in Singapore and took the first flight out to Sydney the next day. No one was injured in the incident and SIA says there was no major impact on the aircraft as well. However, it will investigate the incident and is filing reports with the relevant Singapore authorities. Mr Steve Forshaw, SIA Spokesperson, said: "It would appear that the impact is quite small. We'll need now to conduct a thorough investigation on the aircraft to make sure all the aircraft components at the landing gear level that have come into contact with the grass are okay. If we need to replace them, we will before the aircraft comes into service." - CNA/vm/de

**- Glen -** · 11-01-2008, 09:18 AM

Quite funny. Maybe the pilot purposely did that.

**Shi Yuen** · 11-01-2008, 09:26 AM

LOL!
Ya lo.
I think the pilot forget to put the brakes on. xD

**- Glen -** · 11-01-2008, 09:37 AM

Maybe the pilot did that for more pay.

**ms.siqi** · 11-01-2008, 10:26 AM

How did the plane get stuck in there? Can't the pilot see the grass patch?

**babysammi** · 11-01-2008, 10:35 AM

Looks impressive.

**Voodoo Vince** · 11-01-2008, 01:08 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by ms.siqi
	How did the plane get stuck in there? Can't the pilot see the grass patch?

Maybe their eyes are covered by 'ghost'.