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Changi Airport Group has announced that operations in Terminal 2 (T2) will resume on 29 May 2022, the first phase of the terminal’s reopening as Changi Airport prepares to meet the expected increase in passenger traffic in the months ahead.
Closed for upgrading works since May 2020, T2’s phased reopening will augment Changi’s capacity. When completed by 2024, the expansion works will raise the terminal’s capacity by five million to 28 million passenger movements per year.
In this first phase of T2’s progressive reopening, key touchpoints such as arrival immigration, baggage claim belts and contact gates at the southern wing of the terminal will be ready for flight operations. T2 will host mainly peak-hour arrival flights of airlines operating in Terminal 3 (T3). A small number of T3 departure flights may use boarding gates at T2 although passengers on these flights will continue to check in and clear departure immigration at T3.
Those coming to Changi to receive passengers are advised to check which terminal an arriving flight has been assigned to. The information will be available on the Changi Airport website (www.changiairport.com) and the iChangi app at least two hours before the flight’s arrival time.ADVERTISEMENTMore automated lanes at immigration
The expanded T2 will see a larger Arrival Immigration Hall with more automated immigration lanes and special assistance lanes. The automated immigration lanes will serve Singaporeans and residents who have enrolled their iris and facial biometrics with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, as well as eligible foreign visitors who have done the same upon their arrival in Singapore.
As more passengers are enrolled, the number of automated immigration lanes will be increased. As for the special assistance lanes, these feature a wider width than conventional lanes, allowing passengers with mobility aids, as well as big family groups, to clear immigration more easily.
In the Baggage Claim Hall, there will be three collection belts, with one that has been lengthened to handle more bags.
Adding capacity to support travel recovery
Mr Tan Lye Teck, CAG’s Executive Vice President of Airport Management, said, “CAG is encouraged to see the strong pickup in travel demand and has worked closely with our partners to bring forward the progressive reopening of T2 ahead of the June travel peak to meet this demand. The start of flight operations at T2 will provide more capacity to support our airline partners, who are also gearing up to serve more passengers in the months ahead. T2 will reopen in phases over the next two years to support Changi’s recovery as a regional air hub.”
Changi was voted Asia’s Leading Airport 2019 by voters of World Travel Awards.

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Miami International Airport has been voted Sustainable Cargo Airport of the Year by readers and subscribers of Freightweek magazine, after earning 4,074 of 19,324 online votes during the 2022 Freightweek Sustainability Awards. MIA earned more votes than eight other finalists from across the globe.
America’s busiest airport for international freight earned the award based on its commitment in the global market to promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization; fostering innovation; achieving savings in equipment maintenance costs and workload; and encouraging energy efficiency that leads to reductions in CO2 emissions.
“MIA’s Freightweek Sustainability Award demonstrates that it is leading the way, not only as the top economic engine in our community, but also as one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly airports in the world.  This is yet another example of how Miami-Dade County is leveraging technology and innovation to reach our sustainability goals. Congratulations to our Aviation Department for this global recognition of its stellar efforts to reduce MIA’s carbon footprint in our community.” – Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
In November 2020, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) and Florida Power and Light Services (FPLS) completed Phase II of its Sustainability Project at MIA, the largest energy conservation project ever in the State of Florida and one of the largest in the eastern United States.
Through the installation of $45 million worth of energy-efficient lighting, domestic water and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system upgrades primarily in MIA’s cargo area, the project will save $3.2 million annually in utility costs – enough to fuel 4,856 cars per year and approximately 10% of the airport’s annual electrical cost. It will also achieve water consumption savings equivalent to filling 16 Olympic-sized pools each year, eliminate the presence of R-22 refrigerant in the HVAC systems at MIA – ahead of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “phase out” of R-22 production and import by 2020 – and eliminate the presence of mercury vapors in lighting systems at MIA. The project will generate $60 million in guaranteed savings during the 15-year payback period. Phase II followed the completion of Phase I in 2018, which will generate a total of more than $40 million in energy and water savings through 2032, or $2.8 million annually.ADVERTISEMENTIn January 2020, Florida Power & Light Company and Miami-Dade County launched a half-acre, 402-panel floating solar installation into the waters of the Blue Lagoon adjacent to the airport. The partnership between FPL and Miami-Dade County is the largest floating solar array in the southeastern U.S. and the first-ever at an airport. The solar array, which generates 160 kilowatts of power and prevents 165 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, is also a test-bed for cutting-edge research the performance of solar panels on water.
“This prestigious award is another testament to our unwavering commitment to being an industry leader for sustainability and resilience.  We are honored to be recognized by Freightweek for our energy conservation efforts, which are achieving $6 million in energy savings annually and are reducing millions of gallons in water consumption. We look forward to implementing additional sustainability projects in conjunction with our multi-billion-dollar capital improvement program.” – Ralph Cutié, MIA Director and CEO

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed new guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) removing its recommendation that masks should be required in-flight.
EASA’s updated Aviation Health Safety Protocol, published 11 May, calls for the mandatory mask rule to be relaxed where rules have been relaxed for other transport modes. This important shift reflects the high levels of vaccination, natural immunity levels, and the removal of domestic restrictions in many European nations. The updated guidance also acknowledges the need to move from an emergency situation to a more sustainable mode of managing COVID-19.
“We welcome EASA’s recommendation to relax the mask mandate, which is another important step along the road back to normality for air passengers. Travelers can look forward to freedom of choice on whether to wear a mask. And they can travel with confidence knowing that many features of the aircraft cabin, such as high frequency air exchange and high efficiency filters, make it one of the safest indoor environments,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Several jurisdictions still maintain mask requirements. That is a challenge for airlines and passengers flying between destinations with different requirements. “We believe that mask requirements on board aircraft should end when masks are no longer mandated in other parts of daily life, for example theatres, offices or on public transport. Although the European protocol comes into effect next week, there is no globally consistent approach to mask-wearing on board aircraft. Airlines must comply with the regulations applicable to the routes they are operating. The aircraft crew will know what rules apply and it is critical that passengers follow their instructions. And we ask that all travelers be respectful of other people’s decision to voluntarily wear masks even if it not a requirement,” said Walsh.

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Airports Council International (ACI) has joined with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to call for all remaining Covid-19 restrictions applying to intra-EU and Schengen area travel to be dropped.
This includes all testing requirements, the need to present proof of vaccination or complete a passenger locator form.
The organisations also want to see mask-wearing scrapped for travel within or between states where it is no longer required in other indoor environments.
Covid-19, and specifically the Omicron variant, is now pervasive throughout all of Europe, and population immunity is at such levels that the “risk of hospitalisation or death has dramatically reduced,” especially for vaccinated people, IATA argued.
States are adopting surveillance strategies to ensure public health, in the same way as they do for other coronaviruses and infectious diseases.
Many European states have lifted domestic Covid-19 restrictions, such as the need to provide health credentials to enter social events, or the requirement to wear masks in public spaces.
Contact tracing efforts are also being stood down, rendering locator forms for international travel redundant.
As European countries open up and remove restrictions, it is only logical to remove similar restrictions from air transport.
IATA and ACI Europe today presented further evidence in support of aligning air transport rules with domestic regulations.
New research by OXERA/Edge Health shows that even if a new variant is discovered and travel restrictions introduced immediately, this only delays the peak of infections by a maximum of only four days.ADVERTISEMENTIn reality, by the time that a new variant emerges, is identified, and restrictions are put in place, the variant is likely already circulating in communities around the world.
In a scenario where restrictions are delayed by a week from identification, the peak in infections per 100,000 people is only delayed by a maximum of two days.
These negligible health benefits are therefore outweighed by the significant social and economic damage caused by the negative impact on air travel.
“The independent research and modelling published today shows that governments can lift restrictions with confidence – both for today and for any future variants of concern. 
“Travel restrictions have proven to be a blunt instrument with little to no impact on virus transmission.
“Removing all Covid-19 restrictions will finally fully restore the freedom to travel.
“That will be a much-needed boost for the whole travel and tourism sectors which has been forced to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs during the pandemic,” said Olivier Jankovec, director general, ACI Europe.
Julia Simpson, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) chief executive, said the body supported the call.
A statement added: “WTTC fully supports the call from IATA and ACI Europe to end all remaining restrictions applying to intra-EU and Schengen area travel.
“The patchwork of restrictions do nothing to prevent the spread of Covid-19 but have caused serious damage to the economy, causing the loss of jobs and businesses.
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen economies reopening.
“It is time to remove these ineffective restrictions and allow people to travel freely.”

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Airbus has asked the High Court in London to award it $220 million in damages over two undelivered A350 planes for Qatar Airways.
The move is the latest step in a long-running and increasingly bitter dispute between the two.
The court claim for damages came after Qatar Airways sued the manufacturer for $600 million over the erosion to the surface of more than 20 previously delivered A350 jets.
Airbus said it was also seeking to recover millions of pounds in credits awarded to the airline.
For its part, Qatar Airways welcomed a decision by the High Court to issue an injunction against Airbus.
The essence of the order, the carrier said, is that the manufacturer must not do anything between now and a further hearing in April that would “adversely affect its ability to comply with any court order that Qatar Airways might obtain in relation to the purported cancellation of the A321 contract”.
As the order obtained is an injunction, there would be “serious consequences” for Airbus should this order be breached, the carrier said.
The decision is the latest in an increasingly ugly dispute between the two parties.
In January, Airbus cancelled a contract for 50 new A321neo planes with Qatar Airways. ADVERTISEMENTThat followed a decision in December by the Middle East carrier to issue legal proceedings against Airbus in a dispute over the grounding of its fleet of A350 planes.
The airline took 21 aircraft out of operation last year, arguing paint on the fuselage was “degrading at an accelerated rate” and creating a safety concern.
Airbus countered, blaming the airline for an “ongoing mischaracterisation of non-structural surface degradation”.
The manufacturer said the surface paint-related findings have been thoroughly assessed by its own team and confirmed by the European Aviation Safety Agency as having “no airworthiness impact” on the A350.
The dispute is ongoing, with a hearing due in April.
In an earnings call Airbus chief executive, Guillaume Faury, said the company was seeking a mutually acceptable resolution.
“We have to take steps to protect ourselves and protect the company and that is basically what we are doing, but obviously we continue to try to resolve the situation in a more amicable way,” he explained.
Qatar Airways said it also noted the remarks “with surprise”.
The carrier said its legal team was unaware of any efforts by Airbus to try to resolve the situation.
In a further development, Qatar Airways said the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) has now revoked the airworthiness review certificate of an additional A350 aircraft.
This means a total of twenty-two Airbus A350 aircraft now grounded.

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TUI UK has confirmed the expansion of its holiday programme for summer 2022 from Glasgow Airport with increased frequency of flying to over nine different destinations.
The company will increase its frequency of flights to over nine destinations, with many destinations increased to three flights a week or more.
Flights to customer favourites Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey will operate four times a week and flights to Mallorca four times a week.
For customers looking to travel long haul, there will be two options available from Glasgow Airport – Cancun and Orlando Melbourne International, the new Florida gateway for TUI customers.
Flights to Cancun will operate three times a week, increasing to four during peak summer holidays and flights to Florida will operate once weekly and once fortnightly, increasing to three flights a week during peak summer holidays.ADVERTISEMENTTo offer customers even more flexibility this year, TUI will increase flights to several destinations to offer ten- and 11-night holidays for customers travelling from Glasgow Airport.
The number of flights to Malaga, Corfu, Paphos and Rhodes will be increased to twice a week for summer 2022.
Richard Sofer, commercial and business development director at TUI, said: “As the airline with the largest regional airport network in the UK, we’re committed to offering our customers as much availability as possible to our great range of holidays.
“We’re delighted to expand our summer 2022 programme from Glasgow with increased flying to several destinations, providing even more flight options for our customers.”

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments to adopt “simple, predictable and practical” measures to safely facilitate the ramping-up of international travel as borders re-open.
Specifically, the trade body urged governments to focus on simplified health protocols, digital solutions to process health credentials and Covid-19 measures proportionate to risk levels.
The vision to address the complexity is outlined in the newly released policy paper.
“As governments are establishing processes to re-open borders, in line with what they agreed in the ministerial declaration of the ICAO High Level Conference of Covid-19, the blueprint will help them with good practices and practical considerations.
“Over the next months we need to move from individual border openings to the restoration of a global air transport network that can reconnect communities and facilitate economic recovery,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA deputy director general.ADVERTISEMENTThe document aims to facilitate the efficient ramping-up of global connectivity.
“We must have processes in place to safely and efficiently manage the ramping-up of international travel as borders re-open.
“With over 18 months of pandemic operational experience and traveller feedback we know that a laser-focus on simplicity, predictability and practicality is essential.
“That is not the reality today.
“Over 100,000 Covid-19 related measures have been implemented by governments worldwide.
“This complexity is a barrier to global mobility that is exacerbated by the inconsistencies these measures have created among states,” said Clifford.
Key recommendations include the removal of all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine.
The management of travel health credentials (vaccination or testing certificates) should also be handled digitally, IATA argued, enabling travellers to complete the process in advance so that they can arrive at the airport ready-to-travel.
This will facilitate automated check-in processes, reducing airport queuing and wait-times.
“Travel is important – pre-pandemic some 88 million livelihoods were directly connected to aviation.
“And the inability to travel freely by air has impacted the quality of life for billions of people.
“We know that travellers feel confident with the implementation of the Covid-19 safety measures.
“But they have clearly told us that the current travel experience needs to improve with better information, simpler processing and digital solutions,” concluded Clifford.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to use the commitments reached at the ICAO High Level Conference on Covid-19 (HLCC) to make real progress towards restoring global air connectivity.
States attending the event declared their commitment to 14 measures which, if acted upon, would enable airlines to meet the demands of consumers worldwide for a revival of air travel.
In particular, two commitments need the most urgent action by governments.
The first sees governments commit to promoting “a harmonized and inclusive approach to facilitate safe international air travel”, while the second refers to the roll-out of ICAO guidelines on harmonising risk assessment.
“Government-imposed restrictions continue to stop a revival of international travel. ADVERTISEMENT“It remains 70 per cent down on pre-crisis levels.
“The ICAO HLCC commitments show that governments understand what is needed to re-start global connectivity.
“The task now is implementation,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.
“Some governments have already started.
“The imminent opening of the US market to vaccinated travellers will be a big step forward.
“But we cannot let the output of this meeting remain as words on paper.
“The airline industry, 88 million livelihoods, 3.5 per cent of global GDP and billions of travellers are counting on governments to deliver on the risk-managed reopening of international travel to which they have committed,” Walsh added.

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