Air cargo volume flies up at Singapore

SINGAPORE : Singapore Changi Airport handled 512,000 tonnes of airfreight in the third quarter of 2024 (July to September), up 13.5% on the same period last year.

Growth was seen across all cargo flows – exports, imports and transhipments, boosted by big improvements on the China and US trade lanes, said the airport authority.

Changi Airport Group Executive Vice President for air hub and cargo development, Lim Ching Kiat, said that the airport had partnered closely with Chinese carriers to add new routes to Jieyang Chaoshan, Linyi, Quanzhou and Taiyuan, along with with increased flights to key cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing. Changi’s top five air cargo markets in the third quarter of 2023 were Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and the US. Passenger traffic at Changi was up 10% in the quarter, at 16.8 million.

Earlier in October, SF Express Singapore opened a new airside logistics facility in Changi Airfreight Centre as part of the SATS Core A warehouse. Its direct airside access is expected to cut processing time from four to six hours to 1.5 to 2 hours. The facility enables the efficient transfer of cargo between tarmac and logistics centre and speeds up movement of import processing time.

The airport has also opened Changi Nexus One, a refurbished air logistics building within the Airfreight Centre.

The facility, which also enjoys direct apron access, includes nearly 8,000m2 of warehousing space and is designed to house two cargo handling tenants.

It will increase the airport’s logistics warehouse capacity and meet growing demand for air cargo services.