But passenger traffic for the first half of 2026 is 0.4% up despite an uncertain operating environment

[SINGAPORE] Changi Airport recorded 17.2 million passenger movements in its second quarter from April to June 2026 – a 1.5 per cent decline from the period a year before.

However, Changi Airport Group noted in a statement on Friday (Jul 24) that passenger traffic for the first half of 2026 remained positive, rising 0.4 per cent year on year.

The figures come amid a dynamic operating environment in which airlines are facing higher operating costs from elevated jet-fuel prices and persistent fuel supply constraints.

Aircraft movements (comprising landings and take-offs) in Q2 fell 1.3 per cent year on year to 92,400.

For H1 2026, aircraft movements stood at 188,000, similar to the corresponding period the year before.

The airport’s top five passenger markets for the quarter were China, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and India.

Changi Airport Group said: “Vietnam and China maintained a strong growth momentum, recording year-on-year increases of 18.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively; Japan also saw healthy growth of 7 per cent.”

Changi’s top five busiest routes in Q2 were Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Denpasar (Bali) and Tokyo.

However, the group noted that South-east Asian routes registered a 5 per cent decline in traffic in the quarter.

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Meanwhile, stronger passenger demand on the Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo routes underpinned the 5.1 per cent growth for North-east Asia.

Traffic to and from Europe and the South-west Pacific in Q2 rose 8.7 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, as some airlines added capacity on services between Changi Airport and these regions to optimise their operations, said the group.

Strong cargo market performance

Changi Airport handled 567,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput in Q2, up 9.8 per cent year on year.

This was led by growth in all cargo flows on the back of strong artificial intelligence-related semiconductor and electronics shipments.

Changi’s top five air cargo markets for the quarter were China, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and India.

Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development, said: “With jet fuel prices having eased from their March peaks, we are in active discussions with our airline partners to restore some of the services that were suspended earlier.”