One of the world’s busiest airports reveals plans for new £7billion mega terminal with 50million more passengers
A HUGE new mega terminal is set to transform one of the world’s best airports.
Changi Airport, in Singapore, has not only been named the best in recent years, but is also the fourth busiest in the world.
Known for having the world’s biggest indoor waterfall as well, the major airport has revealed plans to open a new Terminal 5.
Also called T5, the new terminal will welcome another 50million passengers when complete, adding to the current 90million at the airport.
It will also allow flights to connect Singapore to 200 cities, up from the current 170 cities.
The new terminal will be connected to Terminal 2, and will be the base of Singapore Airlines.
Vertical gardens with indoor trees and plant areas will be throughout the terminal, which also has huge glass roofs and walls to let in as much daylight as possible.
And a former military runway will become the airport’s third runway used by commercial jets, and increased from 1.7miles to 2.5miles.
Contactless touchpoints and automated check ins will speed up the process of travelling from landside to gate.
The new designs have been created by British-based Heatherwick Studio, behind UK projects such at Coal Drops Yard and BT Tower in London.
This is alongside American architecture firm KPF, behind Atlantis The Royal in Dubai and projects in Bermondsey and central London.
Thomas Heatherwick, design director of Heatherwick Studio, said it will be full of “lush greenery and characterful districts that redefine what an airport can be”.
Work has already started on the 2,670 acre area, which will nearly double the current airport size.
The new runway could open as soon as 2027, ahead of the full opening of the project.
The terminal expects to fully open by the mid 2030s, costing around $10billion (£7.3bilion) according to Simple Flying.
The last new opening at Changi Airport was the entertainment and shopping district the Jewel, back in 2019.
And a new passport-free system is being rolled out at the airport’s immigration, with biometric checks instead.
It’s not the only major airport expansion taking place right now.
Dubai is opening the new Al Maktoum International Airport by 2031, which will handle up to 260million passengers a year.
This will replace the current Dubai International Airport – which welcomes 92million passengers – which will close when the new airport is completed.
Top 15 busiest airports in the UK
Here are the 15 busiest airports in the UK by passenger numbers in 2023
- London Heathrow – 79.2 million
- London Gatwick – 40.9 million
- Manchester – 28.1 million
- London Stansted – 28.0 million
- London Luton – 16.4 million
- Edinburgh – 14.4 million
- Birmingham – 11.5 million
- Bristol – 9.9 million
- Glasgow – 7.4 million
- Belfast International – 6.0 million
- Newcastle – 4.8 million
- Liverpool – 4.2 million
- Leeds Bradford – 4.0 million
- East Midlands – 3.9 million
- London City – 3.4 million
And Poland’s £25billion Warsaw Solidarity Airport wants to take on Heathrow and Dubai as a hub airport, with 65million passengers.
Here is the new £1.1billion new airport terminal opening in Casablanca in Morocco.