Changi's cargo fall in February, but passenger numbers rise

SINGAPORE's Changi Airport handled 128,048 tonnes of air freight in February, representing a decline of 1.9 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier owing to the Lunar New Year holidays.


In the first two months of the year the international airport's total cargo volume rose by 1.3 per cent year on year to reach 275,272 tonnes of cargo. A statement from airport authorities attributed the growth in air freight movement to a rise in shipments to and from Europe and the Americas.


In February the airport registered 3.39 million passenger movements, up 9.1 per cent compared to the same month in 2010.


"Passenger traffic was boosted by strong travel demand over the Lunar New Year holiday which this year was spread over a long weekend. South East and North East Asia continued to be the growth drivers, with traffic to these regions increasing by double digits," the Changi Airport Group said.


The airport handled 22,000 flights in February, an increase of 12.2 per cent year on year, out of which 28 per cent were operated by low cost carriers.


During the month Tiger Airways increased flights to Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Macau and Manila. AirAsia increased frequencies to Penang and Miri, while Thai AirAsia started a new daily service to Chiang Mai. In addition, Firefly also introduced 10 additional weekly services to Kuala Lumpur.


Changi will be connected to South America for the first time when Singapore Airlines begins thrice-weekly services to Sao Paulo via Barcelona on March 28.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)