Singapore has just lately reopened its Changi T4 airport after it was closed for over two years because of the pandemic. Final month, AirAsia invited us over to take a look at the brand new terminal because it moved its Singapore-based operations from T1 to T4. Changi T4 is at the moment’s Singapore’s newest terminal and it makes use of automation and intelligent design to make air journey a nice expertise.
Opened on thirty first October 2017, Changi T4 replaces the outdated Price range Terminal which was designed to cater to low-cost carriers together with turboprop operations similar to Firefly Airways. Regardless of being one-third the scale of T3, T4 is ready to deal with 16 million passengers each year, which is two-thirds the capability of T3.
Changi T4 has been described because the mannequin airport of the long run for finances airways. With most airways shifting in direction of digital contact factors and self-service kiosks, T4 has adopted the most recent digital applied sciences similar to biometric and 3D baggage scanners to make it extra environment friendly to maneuver as many baggage and other people as doable, with out requiring a bigger workforce of a standard airport.
Instantly on the departure space, you’ll discover rows of self-service check-in counters and automatic self-service baggage drop machines. In the intervening time, the terminal nonetheless has a pair rows of handbook check-in counters the place a employees can help passengers who’ve particular wants or are having points with the self-service kiosks. We’re informed by Changi authorities that these counters are designed to get replaced with self-service kiosks sooner or later for a completely digital expertise. It’s also price highlighting that the luggage drop conveyor belt is positioned decrease and nearer to the ground, which makes it simpler to load heavier objects.
The most important gamechanger might be T4’s automated immigration system earlier than coming into the departure corridor. Outgoing passengers are solely required to scan their passport and confirm utilizing their fingerprint or face, to clear each immigration and safety. Not solely this supplies a seamless expertise, it reduces the necessity of getting handbook checks and a big corridor for immigration clearance.
The automated immigration system is open to Singaporeans, everlasting residents and registered travellers aged 6 years outdated and above. In case you’ve registered your fingerprints whenever you enter Singapore, you’ll be able to use the automated immigration facility. There are nonetheless manned counters to supply handbook immigration clearance.
In all probability the one contact level which requires human intervention is the safety screening space the place authorities might want to carry out an X-ray scan of your carry-on bag. Not like most airports, you aren’t required to take out your laptop computer or electronics out of your bag, which makes it extra handy for frequent travellers.
Regardless of being smaller than different terminals at Changi, you’ll get a way of a giant area at T4 because of the usage of excessive ceilings and enormous glass home windows. In case you’re arriving by automobile or bus, the primary entrance even has a kerb-less design which makes it simple so that you can roll your baggage. Sadly, there’s no rail hyperlink to different Changi terminals however they do present complimentary shuttle bus which operates each 6 minutes between T3 and T4 or each 9 minutes between T1/Jewel and T4 throughout peak hours of 8am to 10pm day by day. Throughout off-peak hours, the shuttle buses function at a decrease frequency between 8 to 31 minutes.
With the orchid because the nationwide flower of Singapore, you’ll discover plenty of orchid petal designs across the terminal. This consists of the glass openings within the ceiling, lights, bollard, carpet and on the partitions. There are many greenery too which provides you the impression of strolling via a park.
T4 additionally has ample of sitting and work areas to chillout for lone travellers or massive households. Moreover the number of eating places and retailers, there are couple of fascinating areas together with the Chandelier playground and the Heritage Zone which options a big digital display projecting Peranakan shophouses of Singapore within the Nineteen Thirties.
All gates are outfitted with automated boarding gates positioned proper earlier than the jet bridge. When it’s time to board the plane, passengers are solely required to scan their boarding move and their face to exit the lane. Not like KLIA2, many of the gates are fairly reachable inside 5-7 minutes after clearing immigration which is nice information for travellers who hate lengthy walks.
Throughout my check-in and baggage drop expertise on fifteenth September, there have been a few teething points. The luggage scanner couldn’t match my identify to my boarding move and I think this might be because of the baggage tag. My journey to Singapore was a bunch reserving and the self-service kiosks didn’t ask for my identify after I printed out my baggage tag, which I suspected might be the primary subject. Happily, there was a employees across the space which supplied some help with my baggage drop subject.
Total, Changi T4 is a well-designed airport and it’s superb how they managed to maximise area through the use of know-how to switch conventional touchpoints. At sure factors of the airport, you possibly can see each landside and airside via the massive home windows, which provides you a sense that the boarding gates are nearer than you assume. This needs to be an instance for all future airports and hopefully Malaysia would undertake among the intelligent designs which may make air journey much less annoying.
Singapore is now set to construct T5, a brand new bigger airport terminal able to dealing with about 50 million passengers each year. The brand new terminal is predicted to be as massive as T1 to T4 mixed and it’s set to open someday in mid-2030.
