Airport development in Asia
Positive economic growth in the Asia-Pacific’s aviation industry has seen expansion programmes in major such as Singapore’s Changi Airport and Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the Philippines.
BY NAGIB RAMLI, ASSOCIATE, FROST & SULLIVAN AEROSPACE & DEFENSE PRACTICE, ASIA-PACIFIC
The aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific region has been enjoying very positive growth in recent years, driven by a number of different factors. These include manufacturing of aircraft parts, airlines expansion, MRO and airport development.
It is also fair to say that growth in other segments within the aerospace industry could have a trickle-down effect that will eventually affect the development of airport in the Asia-Pacific. In this case, the strongest factor has been the increase in passenger and cargo traffic, which also drives overall growth in he airline industry.
Economic growth of each country further boosts the aviation industry.
The development and expansion of airports have been rampant across the Asia-Pacific countries, especially in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
The development and expansion of airport have been rampant across the Asia-Pacific countries, especially in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Notably, there have been significant upgrade programmes undertaken by Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the Philippines and Changi Airport in Singapore. Both airports have underlined their vision for the future as being the industry leaders of their region or country, with Changi targeting to become the South-east Asian hub for inbound traffic from Europe and North America, and Diosdado Macapagal positioning itself as the primary airport of the Philippines.
The Asia-Pacific has seen very positive increase in passenger and cargo traffic over the past few years. The rising economic standards of countries in the Asia-Pacific have driven demand for air travel and logistics, and have resulted in airport congestion, prompting the need for upgrades to accommodate more and bigger aircraft. The upgrading in Singapore’s Changi and Malaysia’s Senai has englarged the airports’ capacity to accommodate both cargo and passenger traffic.
Majeor aircraft manufacturers have identified point-to-point flying as one of the future trends in commercial aviation, supporting low-cost carriers (LCC). Point-to-point commercial flights encourage the growth of more airports, even in smaller cities, as flying between cities become more affordable.
COMMON ISSUES
Surrounding the airport industry
• Airline traffic unpredictability
• Foreign direct investment
• Inconsistent state policies
• Increasing demands and capacities
• High energy costs cutting through green inltiatives
• Development of cities and hubs
Changi Airport, Singapore
CHANGI Airport’s latest development is in the new state-of-the-art Terminal 3, which is built to increase passenger handling capability by up to 22 million. Terminal 3’s development included the entire airport structure from landside to screening and airside. The expansion costs around US$1.24 billion.
Changi Airport has positioned itself as the main entry point into South-east Asia, facilitating incoming traffic from Europe, Australia, the Middle East and North America, Apart from this, the airport has also taken advantage of Singapore’s strategic location to provide a good transit point for aircraft flying the Kangaroo route, from Australia to Europe as well as from North America to Australia.
This route has proven to be very profitable for a number of airlines, and Changi Airport faces direct competition from