Singapore breaks ground on a grand new terminal at Changi Airport

Singapore's Changi Airport has received nearly every award the aviation industry has to offer, including the title of world's best airport for 2025.

Now Singapore is expanding its national airport: construction of a fifth terminal began this week, with opening planned for the mid-2030s. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong led the official groundbreaking ceremony on 14 May.

Singapore is a city-state of around six million people, concentrating all its aviation resources in a single airport. Unlike other airports, which have separate terminals for domestic and international flights, all flights at Changi are international, allowing passengers to move freely through all public areas of the airport.

Changi Airport Group CEO Yam Kum Weng described the planned terminal as "grand yet cosy," stressing that passengers will get "a personalised, comfortable, and pleasant experience."

The T5 project was first announced back in 2013 and was meant to break ground in 2020, but the timeline was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic also influenced the design of the new building: it is now equipped with a special ventilation system that can be activated in the event of a pandemic.

All passengers will use contactless entry points, in line with the airport's strategy to move entirely away from paper documents and toward biometric identification.

The multi-level roof design will ensure air circulation and allow the terminal to be quickly divided into separate zones if it becomes necessary to isolate passengers or conduct testing for infectious diseases.

Once completed, T5 will become the main terminal for Singapore Airlines and its budget carrier Scoot, which are currently based in different terminals.

The airport as a tourist attraction

One factor behind Changi's acclaim is the sheer range of attractions and amenities on-site. These include numerous gardens (with butterflies, cacti, water lilies, sunflowers, and orchids), playgrounds, a giant slide, a cinema, and even a rooftop pool.

The latest addition is the Jewel Changi retail complex, built in 2019. Its main attraction is the world's largest indoor waterfall, open not only to travellers but to all visitors.

"Efficiency doesn't rule out comfort," said Trent Tesch, lead designer on the project at architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). According to him, the new T5 terminal is not just a machine for moving people, but "a living micro-city that reflects Singapore's unique character — lush, multi-layered, and human."

The T5 project takes into account Singapore's climate, marked by high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and high humidity. The terminal will be fitted with a large rooftop solar power system capable of supplying energy not just to the airport, but the equivalent of around 20,000 four-room apartments a year.

Over the past year, more than 68 million passengers passed through Changi, making it the fourth-busiest airport in the world. Direct flights are available from here to 170 cities.