Changi has potential to grow air traffic

Changi has potential to grow air traffic till at least 2018

File photo: Singapore Changi Airport tower. (Photo: Hester Tan, channelnewsasia.com)

Singapore's Changi Airport has the potential to handle 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 40 per cent more aircraft movements than the 302,000 handled last year.

Based on a study by UK air traffic experts, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) says Changi has sufficient capacity to grow air traffic further till at least 2018.

Changi currently operates on a two-runway system, just like London's Heathrow airport - touted to be the world's busiest dual-runway airport.

A study commissioned by CAAS concluded that Changi Airport has the potential to handle up to 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 90 percent of what Heathrow can handle.

CAAS director-general Yap Ong Heng said: "Changi Airport can continue to grow. More airlines can operate at Changi and increase their operations. This will be a key factor in the deliberations of the Changi 2036 Steering Committee when it looks at the future plans for the airport."

Authorities expect aircraft movements at Changi to exceed 320,000 this year.

And the study supports the view that there is sufficient air traffic capacity till 2018, with a projected average growth of 5 percent.

Observers say this means authorities will have to look at opening a third runway to cater to demand.

Standard & Poor's aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said: "There are two runways at Changi now. With the increased number of aircraft movements, air traffic and passenger, is there a need to open a third runway? That's a question that they will need to look at, because (with) growing budget airlines operations, you have seen aircraft movements grow higher and passenger numbers (too).

"For now, it's enough. (Come) 2015, there's the open skies agreement, there are more budget airlines coming in and expanding. AirAsia has ordered another 100 planes. So you know, based on the current market environment, there is a pressing need to quickly decide on an extra runway."

The study by UK NATS, the air navigation service provider of the UK, also considered measures to increase air traffic efficiency implemented since the start of this year.

They include cutting the interval for take-off from 120 seconds to 90 seconds, reducing the scheduled closures of a runway by leveraging on IT systems and reconfiguring flight routes to improve predictability.

With the measures implemented, CAAS says the number of flights taking off on time has improved by about 50 percent in the last six months.

More measures are in the pipeline, such that even when with more aircraft movements, efficiency and safety will not be compromised.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~