The world's best airport just got a little bit better

The airport widely regarded as the world’s best has opened its newest terminal, adding an Old Singaporean “heritage zone”, 81 new shops and restaurants, and a “fast and seamless” self-service travel experience.

Terminal 4 at Singapore Changi spans 195,000 square metres - about 27 football pitches - and is expected to add some 16 million passengers to the airport’s total capacity, taking it to 82million a year.

Arrivals at the new terminal when it opened on Tuesday were welcomed with orchids and goodie bags. By the end of the day it had already seen 2,400 passengers. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air were the first airlines to use T4, but more will follow over the next week.

T4 features 62 new shops, 19 bars and restaurants, a scattering of art displays and “immersive LED walls” as well as an area designed with old Singapore shop fronts. Benoy, founded in Nottinghamshire in 1947, was employed by the airport as concept architects and interior designers. 

“We have received very encouraging feedback from passengers that the offerings curated for T4 are refreshing and bring a new dimension to shopping and dining at Changi,” said Teo Chew Hoon, Changi’s group senior vice president for airside concessions.

“Our commercial team has paid attention to bringing in innovative concepts and new experiences for passengers spanning a range of categories, from the ‘live’ cooking stations for prata and BBQ pork to the sampling of cocktail mixes and the test-flying of drones.”

T4 aside, Changi is quoted among the world’s best airports, having been named best in show at the World Airport Awards earlier this year, picking up the gong for the fifth consecutive year. A record 58.7million passengers passed through in 2016, with airport bosses expecting that number to grow.

What makes Changi so special?

It has a butterfly garden, for starters. Found in Terminal 3, it features flowering plants, a six-metre waterfall and 1,000 butterflies spanning 40 species.  

Those using Terminal 1 will have to make do with a cactus garden (featuring 40 varieties and a cocktail bar), a rooftop swimming pool and jacuzzi (from which you can watch planes take off), a water lily garden, and the Kinetic Rain art installation, featuring 1,216 polished copper raindrops.

Terminal 2 treats travellers to a collection of rare orchids, 500 bright yellow sunflowers, decorative mosaic sculptures, and the Entertainment Deck, home to Xbox 360s and a free 24-hour cinema.

There’s also a cinema in Terminal 3. And a koi pond. And a 12-metre high slide.

All travellers enjoy free Wi-Fi (and have done since 2002) and free city tours (if waiting for a connecting flight).

How can I fly there?

More than 70 airlines operate flights to or from Changi, including long established carriers like Air France, Air New Zealand, Delta, Emirates and KLM, as well as lesser-known ones like Druk, Scoot, Firefly and Air Niugini (based in Papua New Guinea, in case you were wondering).

To fly there direct from Britain, it will have to be with Singapore Airlines, Eva Air or British Airways.

What is its busiest route?

Changi’s most popular route is to Jakarta, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. New destinations for 2016 included Amritsar and Jaipur (India), Urumqi (China), Canberra (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Nadi (Fiji), Sapporo (Japan) and Dusseldorf (Germany).