Airlines are being offered more incentives to fly to Changi Airport, including landing fee rebates for long-haul flights and monetary incentives for carriers that bring in more transfer passengers.
The measures, aimed at helping airlines cope with costs, will amount to $50 million and cover a 19-month period, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said yesterday.
They are part of a $100 million fund announced in June, called the Growth and Assistance Incentive programme, aimed at boosting passenger traffic and improving operational efficiency at the airport.
Initiatives have already been unveiled, including rebates for aircraft parking fees and aerobridge fees, which started in July and will run for a year.
The latest measures will help airlines defray costs by giving them a 50 per cent rebate on landing fees for all non-stop passenger flights that are long haul - nine hours or longer in duration. This will take effect from this month to March 31, 2016.
For every additional transit or transfer passenger that airlines bring to Changi, they will receive $10 in an 18-month scheme to take effect next month.
The initiative is expected to grow Changi's transfer passenger numbers, which accounted for 30 per cent of the 53.7 million travellers it served last year.
CAG's senior vice-president for market development, Mr Lim Ching Kiat, said yesterday: "The underlying fundamentals of the Asia-Pacific aviation market remain strong and attractive."
Mr Lim pointed out: "We are, however, aware that airlines could be facing yield and cost pressures in the present environment... CAG is rolling out these additional short-term measures to help airlines during this period."
This article was first published on September 04, 2014.
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