[ad_1]
SIA’s route network from Changi Airport Terminal 2 will exceed pre-COVID levels, with departures to the Maldives and Nepal joining those bound for ten other countries from 10th October.
Terminal 2 at Singapore Changi Airport is continuing its progressive reopening, and will soon be home to 14 airlines, 13 of which operate exclusively at the terminal, plus home carrier Singapore Airlines, who use it for departures to some specific destinations and a wider mix of arriving flights.
From 10th October 2023 SIA will further add to this list, with two new routes joining its T2 roster, a change that comes just a week after All Nippon Airways and Etihad also return to the facility, as it moves towards a full reopening.
Maldives and Nepal departures moving to T2
Singapore Airlines currently operates two daily departures to Male in the Maldives – SQ432 at 10.05am and SQ438 at 8.40pm – using Boeing 737-8 MAX and Airbus A350 Medium Haul aircraft respectively.
There is also a daily flight to Kathmandu in Nepal, operating at 10.50am on Tuesdays and Fridays on the Boeing 787-10 and at 6.55pm on other days of the week using Boeing 737-800s.
These flights will depart from Terminal 2, effective from 10th October 2023.
From 10 Oct 2023, Singapore Airlines customers flying to Male in Maldives, or Kathmandu in Nepal should check in at Terminal 2.
Singapore Airlines
The first T2 departure to the Maldives, SQ432 to Male, will depart at 10.05am, while the first T2 departure to Nepal, SQ440 to Kathmandu, will depart at 10.50am.
This development will not only restore SIA’s pre-COVID route list from Terminal 2, it will actually exceed it.
While departures to the Maldives were already processed through T2 before the pandemic, those to Nepal were still based in T3.
SIA T2 destinations
Here’s a summary of which SIA flights depart from which terminal at Changi Airport from next month.
| SIA Departures from Changi Airport | |
 Terminal 2 |
 Terminal 3 |
|
|
From 10th October 2023, 402 Singapore Airlines departures per week to 20 destinations will use Terminal 2, while 1,542 departures to the remaining 48 destinations on the network will use Terminal 3.
That means more than one in five of the carrier’s flights (20.7%) will be processed through T2 from mid-October, slightly higher than before COVID for SIA and SilkAir combined (19.6%).
The news comes after we revealed that All Nippon Airways and Etihad would be returning to their regular Terminal 2 home on 5th October 2023.
SIA flights can arrive at T1, T2 or T3
It’s important to bear in mind that Singapore Airlines still uses all three of Changi Airport’s main terminals to process arriving flights and passengers, regardless of their origin country, for operational reasons which may include the aircraft’s planned subsequent destination.
For example, a flight from Sydney, Adelaide or Tokyo might arrive into T2, usually because the same aircraft will be used to fly to a T2 destination on its next service.
A flight from Bali or Jakarta, on the other hand, could arrive in T1 or T3 for the same reason.
Arrival terminal information is usually available via SIA’s flight status update within around 6 hours of the scheduled arrival time, but do remember to subscribe to the particular flight of interest, since its arrival terminal can also change in the meantime.
T3 crowding should improve
As most of our readers know, Changi Airport Terminal 3 (and Terminal 1 for that matter) are suffering from high levels of crowding during peak hours, while T2 remains partially open and T4 is utilised only to around two-thirds of its full capacity.
As we recently revealed, this is causing 1 in 8 of Singapore Airlines’ Terminal 3 flights to actually depart from a Terminal 1 gate, particularly during the morning (7am to 12pm) and evening (7pm to 2.30am) peak periods.
Thankfully these three daily SIA flights to Male and Kathmandu will help take the pressure off T3 when they relocate to T2 next month, with departure timings falling in the morning and evening peak periods.
This should hopefully reduce T1 gate usage for SIA passengers, which can involve a very long walk from the SilverKris lounges, especially when the likes of C25 and C26 are used.
T2 will fully reopen in October 2023
Changi T2 is currently in the process of receiving a full makeover, which CAG says boasts a “contemporary design concept… inspired by elements of nature”.
We’ve already seen this revamp taking shape in the reopened southern arrivals and departures area.
The northern section recently underwent systems testing with orientation flights in early September, which even included a trial of the newly-revamped SIA First Class check-in lounge, boasting direct immigration access.
SIA’s check in desks will move back to the northern section of T2, nearer the MRT entrance and SilverKris lounges, in due course.
Ongoing enhancements in the transit area will include new dining concepts in a larger space, with better views of the runway.
Back in May 2023, Singapore’s Transport Minister announced that the northern wing of Changi Airport Terminal 2 will be back in action by October 2023, months ahead of the original schedule.
We recently had a peek at the ‘Gourmet Garden’ in the south section of the T2 departures transit area, and it looks to be coming on nicely.
Ultimately once the northern wing of Terminal 2 is fully completed, the facility will be the airport’s largest, stealing T1’s thunder with a capacity for 28 million passengers per year – 5 million more than pre-renovation.
| Capacity of Changi’s Terminals (2020 – 2024) | ||
| Terminal | Capacity 2020 |
Capacity 2024 |
| T1 | 24m | 24m |
| T2 | 23m | 28m |
| T3 | 22m | 22m |
| T4 | 16m | 16m |
| Total | 85m | 90m |
A significant 15,500 square metres will be added to the terminal’s original floor space, and once completed the project will boost Changi’s annual passenger capacity to 90 million.
This will secure the airport’s passenger operations through to the opening of Terminal 5, in the mid-2030s.
Changi Airport’s passenger numbers are now 89% of pre-COVID levels, so it’s no surprise that T2’s current southern section operation simply isn’t enough to relieve the strain now being seen at other terminals, leading to an accelerated reopening of the northern wing.
You can still check-in at T3 if you wish
Even if your Singapore Airlines flight is departing from T2, like these Maldives and Nepal services from mid-October, you can still check-in at T3 if you wish, a tactic many of our readers use for easier access to T3’s superior lounges.
You can then take the SkyTrain to T2 when it comes time to board.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
Singapore Airlines has confirmed to Mainly Miles that while it of course prefers passengers to check-in and use the lounge in their departing terminal, it is possible to check in and proceed through immigration in T3, even for a T2 departure, saving additional time if this is your lounge use strategy.
“While we encourage customers whose flights are departing from Terminal 2 to check in at the same terminal, they may opt to check in at Terminal 3 as well.
“Eligible customers who wish to use the lounge before their flight may visit the SilverKris Lounge at Terminal 2, or the SilverKris and KrisFlyer Gold lounges at Terminal 3.
“Customers may take the complimentary Changi Airport Skytrain inside the transit area to travel between Terminals 2 and 3. The Changi Airport Skytrain operates daily from 0430hrs to 0130hrs.
“Customers should provision ample time to travel between Terminals 2 and 3, so as to ensure they get to their boarding gate on time.”
SIA spokesperson
We have recent reviews of the refreshed T2 KrisFlyer Gold and SilverKris Business Class lounges since they reopened back in October 2022, with some minor enhancements but more or less with the same dated format they had pre-pandemic.
Other T2 airlines
October 2023 will see a total of 14 airlines operating from Changi Airport Terminal 2, as outlined in the following table, listed in order of commencing operations at the reopened terminal following it’s two-year closure.
All Changi Airport T2 Airlines
(from 10 October 2023)
* Post T2’s COVID closure
In total, T2 will handle 617 passenger flight departures per week (an average of over 88 per day), based on mid-October 2023 flight schedules.
From 10th October 2023, SIA flights heading to the Maldives (Male) and Nepal (Kathmandu) will depart from Changi Airport Terminal 2 instead of Terminal 3.
This will mean the airline’s list of T2 destinations exceeds pre-pandemic norms – while the Maldives was formerly a T2 route, Nepal was a T3 destination before COVID-19.
For those who prefer the newer T3 lounge facilities, there’s still the option to check-in over there and simply head to your T2 gate via the SkyTrain when it comes time to board.
(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)
[ad_2]
Source link