Singapore’s Changi Airport Doubling in Size

“Singapore’s Changi Airport is the largest airport in the world and is about to double in size” CNN Travel has reported. For ten years Changi Airport won the award for largest airport in the world, but in 2021 they lost to Qatar’s Hamad international airport encouraging Changi airport to double in size to take back its title. They are also doubling the airport in size to hold more passengers and to incorporate some more appealing landmarks.

Changi airport  announced an expansion of terminal 5 which will be more of a social extension rather than another transport infrastructure. Terminal 5 will allow a capacity of 50 million more people. Terminal 5 will be as big as all four terminals already there combined, doubling the entire airport. “We are building one more new Changi Airport, It is huge.” said Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at a national day rally in late July.

The construction of terminal 5 will begin in two years and is expected to be done sometime in the mid-2030s. In terminal 5,  “there will be contactless systems at passenger touchpoints and will feature solar panels along with district cooling combined with thermal energy storage.” CNN travel reported.

Terminal 1 of the Changi airport was built in 1981. In 1986, the construction of terminal 2 began. Terminal 2 included the world’s first transit swimming pool that would kick off for more exotic additions to the airport separating it from all others. Some additions include a news hub, a movie theater, and a sports center in 1991. In 2008, terminal 3 was built including a 12 meter high mega slide and a butterfly garden

Terminal 4 was built in 2017. The Changi Jewel finished construction in 2019.  The Changi Jewel is a doughnut shaped exterior framed in steel and glass. It connects three of the four terminals and it is 10 stories five stories above ground and five stories below ground, the star attraction is the 40 meter tall indoor rain vortex also known as the world’s largest indoor waterfall. Inside the Changi Jewel there is also an 11 cinema imax enhanced theater and Shiseido forest valley, a four story garden with walking trails that stretch over 235,000 square feet of landscaping all surrounding the vortex waterfall.