Singapore Airport Changi: diagram, photo

If you fly to the cities of Southeast Asia or Australia with a transfer, and one of the points of waiting for a connecting flight will be the airport of Changi (Singapore), you know: hanging out in this hub can be compared with rest in some resort. You just do not want to leave it. After all, Changi for the third time in a row receives an award at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards and thus leads the rating of the best airports in the world. In 2015, he was awarded an additional prize as the most comfortable in terms of entertainment for passengers. Traveler here will not be bored for sure. Even Singaporeans visit their airport. And not just to go on an air trip. The airport often hosts exhibitions, festivals, other entertainment events. Let's take a look at this hub - the largest in all South-East Asia.

Singapore Changi Airport in figures

Even the dry statistics data amaze the imagination. Six and a half thousand flights a week! Passenger traffic in 2011 amounted to forty six and a half million people! In the first twenty years of its existence (from 1987 to 2007), Changi was awarded two hundred and eighty awards. Nineteen times he was recognized as the best hub in the world. And the travelers themselves call the most comfortable and beautiful airport in Singapore. The photo of this small town looks very presentable. But it does not give an idea of the rich filling of four terminals. A swimming pool, a cinema, huge shopping centers, galleries of butterflies, cacti, prayer rooms of various denominations, convenient escalators and moving walkways - all this is at the airport of Singapore. By the way, unlike many hubs, there are comfortable sofas here to sleep. On a transit visa in Singapore, you can stay up to four days. So if you happen to fly with a transfer to Changi, let the time interval between connecting flights be long - there is something to do.

History

In Singapore, there were several airports built in the 30-50-ies of the twentieth century. However, with the development of the country's economy and the increased passenger flow, they stopped coping with their task. And the urban development came close to these airports, so there was no way to expand them. Renovated in the seventies hub Kallang has already taken four million passengers. But this was not enough. Therefore, in 1975 the government decided to build the main Singapore airport in a new location, outside the city. In the eastern part of the island, near the military airbase of Changi, the land was alienated. Part of the territory was reclaimed from the sea by land reclamation by a Japanese construction company. Thus, the airport area has increased to thirteen square kilometers. The visiting cards of the hub (at least from a technical point of view) are a 78-meter tower for dispatchers and a hangar housing three Boeing 747 airliners . The first terminal of Changi Airport was inaugurated by the acceptance of a flight from Kuala Lumpur in July 1981. At the end of this year, the results were summed up: for six months of operation, the passenger flow amounted to eight million, 63 thousand take-offs and landings were committed.

Development of services

Initially, the construction of two terminals was planned. The second was opened a year later after the first one. But it soon became clear that this was not enough for the passengers at Changi airport to be at ease. The third terminal, as well as the elegant 9-storey hotel "Crowne Plaza" near it were put into operation in early 2008. At this time, many low-bonfires have already announced themselves. Changi Airport (Singapore) was the first in the world where a terminal for budget airlines appeared. He began to receive passengers from March 2006. We did not ignore VIP persons. In the same year 2006, only in the autumn, a separate terminal for "commercially important passengers" was commissioned. Constantly improving the conditions in existing buildings. Between the terminals there is a neutral zone, through which transit passengers can move freely. Great attention is paid to the vehicles of communication between the terminals.

Scoreboard

At this time, the Singapore airport is connected with 240 cities in sixty countries. It accepts planes of one hundred and ten airlines. Thus, it is the largest airport for the whole region of Southeast Asia. The hub is the base for Singapore Airlines, as well as other passenger and freight carriers. The most frequent flights from Changi to Jakarta, the capital of Malaysia. From Moscow Domodedovo to Singapore are sent five regular flights a week. You can get to this country and from St. Petersburg. Singapore airport is a convenient connecting point. Through it you can get to the cities of Australia, the island powers of the Pacific Ocean, to the western coast of the United States.

Changi Airport (Singapore): scheme

Passengers in the arrival halls are waiting for a rack with free brochures, where a multi-level hub plan is very available and shown in pictures. In addition, many pointers and inscriptions in English will not get lost. What do you need to know the traveler arriving at Singapore airport? Its scheme is extremely simple. Terminals Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are interconnected by a transit zone. So passengers of connecting flights do not need to receive luggage and pass passport and customs controls. Between the terminals you can navigate on a monorail or shuttle bus - both of these vehicles are free. If you want to do this walk (follow the white line with the drawing of the little man), then the moving tracks will help you with this. The train and shuttle stops are located on the second floor of the terminals. Passengers of low-cost should receive baggage and undergo migration control. The terminal for budget air carriers was built autonomously and is not connected to the rest of the transit zone. The main buildings can be reached by a free bus.

How to get from Singapore airport to the city

At the first level of all three main terminals there are exits to taxi stops, city buses and high-speed shuttles. The first mode of transport is available around the clock. You can take not only the yellow state taxi, but also order a limousine or cabriolet service. The cost is about 25 Singapore dollars a day, at night - twice as expensive. From 5:30 to 23:20 you can use the services of the metro. The station is located between terminals 2 and 3. From six in the morning until midnight, special shuttles "Maksikab" run. They are convenient in that they make stops on demand at hotels. Place in such a minibus should be ordered at a special rack, pay a ticket there (11 dollars full, 8 - from the child) and tell where to deliver you. In fact, "Maksikab" acts as a taxi, only a group taxi. The exception is Sentosa Island. What is the cheapest option for those passengers who arrive in Singapore? From the airport to the city center from six in the morning until midnight, bus number 36 runs. The journey is only two dollars. But the trip will take about an hour.

Road to the airport

The largest hub in South-East Asia was specially erected far from the city, so that the noise of aircraft did not cause discomfort to the inhabitants. Now the liners descend to the landing strip from the sea. Changi is located in the northeast of Singapore. It is separated from the city seventeen and a half kilometers. How to get from Singapore to the airport? The easiest way to do this is by metro. The station where you need to go is called MRT Changi Airport. But we remind that this option is available only from 5:30 to 23:20 hours. Unfortunately, at night, the only option is a taxi, whose tariff also doubles compared to the day. With a rented car, you can get to Changi by the toll motorway "East Coast Parkway". Entry to it is carried out using an electronic card. It can be purchased at car rental points.

Terminal 1

Singapore Airport is a small town full of fun. The oldest terminal consists of three levels. The first is the arrival zone. On the second floor there is a check-in for flights. Racks are grouped by airlines. In the transit zone there are massage vending machines, as well as prayer rooms and a bamboo garden. On the third floor there is the Ambassador hotel with a rooftop swimming pool. For guests use is free. For all others - thirteen dollars. The ticket price includes not only a swimming pool, but also a shower, a Jacuzzi, a beach towel and one non-alcoholic drink. On the third floor there is a cactus garden and a playground for children. The real decoration of the terminal number 1 is the installation "Rain drops". Thousands of glass beads suspended from the ceiling move to the rhythm of the music.

Terminal 2

This airport building is famous for the world's largest plasma display. Facilities in T2 are not worse than in the oldest terminal in Changi. There are also massage chairs and vending machines, shops, restaurants, cafes (including for the smokers - Harris Bar), beauty salons, duty free, playgrounds, prayer rooms. There is also absolutely free cinema, which people like to visit in Singapore. But the real decoration of the terminal number 2 are its gardens. There are many here. It is a garden of orchids, sunflowers, ferns, a pond with goldfish. For a fee, you can spend time in the "Plaza Premium Lounge" - at your disposal shower, massage, jacuzzi, fitness room.

Terminal 3

Singapore Airport got this building in 2008. This, of course, is the most "ecological" terminal in Changi. There is not only a gallery of fluttering butterflies. The whole terminal is one big flowering garden. That there is only one wall three hundred meters long in the reception hall! It is all planted with climbing plants. The glass roof lets in the sunlight, and in the terminal, like a greenhouse, trees and shrubs grow. There are also ponds and fountains, a cinema, playgrounds, shops, restaurants, cafes, prayer rooms. Near the terminal 3 is the Crowne Plaza Hotel. You can stay in the transit rooms for transit passengers in the mini-hotel Transit Hotel on the third floor.

Things to do in Changi Airport

If you have more than five hours between connecting flights, go to the second level of terminals 2 or 3. There you will find the office of The Free Singapore Tours, which means "Free tour to Singapore". From the airport to the city buses depart at 09:00, 11:30 , 14:30 and 16:00. The sightseeing tour lasts two hours. It should be recorded at least sixty minutes before it starts. From 18:30 to 20:30 there is also a free tour, but to other places in Singapore. So, in the evening you can visit the flooded Marina Bay waterfront and the Bugis Village night market.