Almost every week, Iskandar Zulkarnain takes his wife and two children to Singapore’s famous Changi Airport. Their destination is always the same: the state-of-the-art shopping center called ‘Jewel,’ which is spread over 1.5 square miles and is connected to Terminal 1 of Changi Airport.
This beautiful building is a testament to the expertise of Canadian architect Moshe Safdie and his team. Iskandar Zulkarnain’s children love the seven-story-high waterfall in this shopping mall, which is the tallest indoor artificial waterfall in the world. Their second favorite attraction is the light show synchronized with music, where they can see their favorite Disney characters.
After passing through the shopping mall, the family takes a shuttle bus or electric train to Terminal 3, where there is a carnival-like atmosphere with entertainment options for both children and adults.
Yes, we welcome you to this airport, which has been ranked the best airport in the world by Skytrax, an organization that ranks various airports globally. Skytrax claims that for this ranking, they reviewed more than 550 airports worldwide, focusing particularly on the facilities provided to passengers.
Changi Airport has topped the Skytrax rankings 12 times and has been ranked first eight times in the last ten years. For the past two years, Qatar’s Doha International Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport have held the first position for one year each, while Changi was second. However, in March of this year, Changi regained the top spot. According to Skytrax, the facilities and enjoyment opportunities available at Changi Airport today are ‘unparalleled in the world.’
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, the total number of passenger flights landing or taking off at this airport was approximately 382,000, with more than 68 million passengers on board.
Now that travel restrictions have been lifted in most countries after the pandemic, the number of passengers at Changi Airport is returning to its previous levels. However, there is no doubt that this airport is not only a major airport in the region but also a recreational spot loved by the people of Singapore.
Rachel Tan takes only 15 minutes to reach Changi Airport by car and visits Jewel Shopping Mall every week for groceries. She says, ‘Shopping is one thing, but you can sit in front of the fountain in Jewel and enjoy yourself for a long time.’
You can easily reach Changi from the city of Singapore by bus or underground train, which is why people come to the airport to spend the whole day. Here, you can watch movies, eat, shop, or even prepare for exams in a quiet corner of the airport. This airport is so beautiful that people now come here to take their wedding photos and reunite with old friends.
Moreover, there are several other attractions for tourists, including an air-conditioned tropical forest and a 12-meter-high slide. If you arrive at the departure lounge before your flight time, don’t worry—you can relax in a steam bath and massage spa, watch a movie for free in the theater, take a dip in the swimming pool, or enjoy the butterfly garden.
The airport even has its own signature scent—a special fragrance made from a blend of flowers and spices that you can smell throughout the vast airport building.
And as soon as you step outside Terminal 4, you find yourself in a massive exhibition space with giant dinosaurs on display. This exhibition stretches for a mile.
Singapore is a country that constantly strives to be number one in various fields, whether it’s schools or local actors. That’s why Changi Airport is a great source of pride for Singapore. In fact, an Indian journalist once tweeted that Singaporeans are ‘unnecessarily proud’ of Changi Airport. In response, he faced quite a fierce backlash.
Civil aviation analyst and consultant Shukor Yusof explains that besides the general public, Singapore’s government officials also take pride in the global ranking of their international airport with a ‘religious’ fervor. According to Shukor Yusof, the high ranking of this airport not only gives government officials a chance to boast but also confirms that major airlines operate flights here.
Although the duty-free shops at the airport were completely deserted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government continued to express its strong commitment to making Changi a major hub for international flights once again after the pandemic. That’s why the government invested another billion dollars in the civil aviation sector during this period.
At that time, Singapore’s Minister of Transport said that the civil aviation industry plays a ‘crucial’ role in ensuring that the city remains a major center for global trade and business.
Alex Chen, a prominent businessman from Zurich, says, ‘If not the best, Changi is one of the best airports in the world where it feels great to change flights.’
Alex Chen has to pass through Singapore four times a year for work. He says that although Changi Airport is ‘very large,’ its management is excellent, and you get things done faster compared to airports like Frankfurt and Amsterdam. ‘I usually travel with a large group of 60 people, but I have never seen any of our luggage lost while changing flights. At other major airports in the world, missing your next flight is common, but it seems that this never happens at Changi Airport.’
Shukor Yusof says that despite a recent technical glitch that caused hours of disruption in immigration clearance at both ground and air checkpoints, many international passengers still prefer Changi for transit because the chances of their journey being disrupted are minimal.
He says, ‘If you look at the time, energy, and financial investment made in a particular airport, Singapore has done the most so far.’
In the 1990s, when Singapore’s state television offered only one drama series for viewers to watch, the opening of each episode often featured the iconic control tower of Changi Airport. In this series, a character who had spent a long time abroad would often be shown landing at Changi Airport, sitting in a beautiful taxi, enjoying the scenic views, and then telling his relatives how much Singapore had changed. The real highlight of this series was Changi Airport itself, which, when it opened in 1981, had only one terminal and one runway.
The connection between Changi Airport and the people here is indeed deep-rooted. When its shopping mall ‘Jewel’ opened in 2019, 50 million people came to see it in the first six months. Now, work is ongoing on its fifth terminal, which is expected to be opened for flights in the mid-2030s.
Local lawyer and social commentator Adrian Tan says, ‘I don’t think any other airport in the world can claim to have such a large number of local visitors.’
Mr. Tan says that it has now become a ‘national ritual’ that whenever you return from a long journey and land at Changi Airport, you inevitably say, ‘Indeed, this airport is so much better than all the other airports in the world.’
