SINGAPORE: Changi Airport’s Terminal 4, which opened on Tuesday (Oct 31), welcomed its first flight as Cathay Pacific Airways CX659 from Hong Kong landed at 5.25am.
Passengers who were on the flight were given a variety of mementos upon disembarking from the plane, including orchids, goodie bags, plush toys and balloon sculptures.
Each passenger received on arrival a goodie bag containing a plush toy, fan, cardholder and a tote bag.
Mdm Rameza, a passenger on the flight, said: “It was very good. There were live performances and goodies, and operations were very smooth.”
Another passenger Mohammed Hossenbux, 51, said: “The whole process was very efficient. It only took me 15 minutes to walk from the plane exit to get out of here (arrival hall).”
The new terminal features start-to-end self-service systems, allowing travellers to check in, deposit their baggage and even go through immigration via automated systems.
At T4’s automated boarding gate, passengers scan their boarding pass and authenticate their identity by taking a photo. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)
At 225,000 sqm, Terminal 4 is only about half the size of Terminal 3, making it Changi Airport’s smallest terminal. But once fully operational, it will be expected to handle 16 million passengers a year – about 70 per cent of T3’s handling capacity.
Along with Cathay Pacific Airways, Korean Air also commenced operations at the new terminal on Tuesday. This will be followed by Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines on Nov 2, and AirAsia and Vietnam Airlines on Nov 7.
