Changi Airport announced that it will run an open house for its upcoming Terminal 4 from August 7 to August 20 this year. The T4 will be the first one to offer end-to-end Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) for departing passengers.
According to the group, FAST makes extensive use of technology, with facial recognition software as one of its features. The technology is expected to register productivity gains with manpower savings of up to 20% in the longer term when operations have already stabilised.
Completed after three years of construction, the new terminal will span a total area of 225,000 square meters. Whilst it is just half the size of terminal 3, T4 is expected to manage around 16 million passenger movements a year.
The new terminal will have centralised areas for departure and arrival immigration and pre-board security screening.
"This provides for more optimised deployment of manpower and equipment. In the Departure Hall, the check-in islands are angled towards the common immigration control area, to create natural and intuitive wayfinding for passengers," the group said in a statement.
T4's interior takes inspiration from an orchid petal and forms a symmetrical shape, which appears in various locations within the terminal such as on the skylights, marble flooring, and carpets. The group wants to create a coherent design language that adds to the terminal's boutique feel.
The Changi Airport's Heritage Zone will be designed with the evolving architecture of shop-house facades and will provide passengers with a glimpse of Singapore's unique cultural heritage. Renovation and fitting-out works of stores and restaurants are well in progress to prepare for operations when T4 opens. Over 80 food & beverage outlets as well as notable brands will be setting up shop in the terminal.
Changi Airport Group Vice President Poh Li San said the terminal was conceived with the vision to rethink travel, push boundaries and break new ground. "For the passenger, we wanted to delight them with 'wow' features and showcase our local culture and architectural history at the Heritage Zone. We look forward to welcoming the public to our Open House in August, and passengers when we open T4 for operations later this year," she stated in a press release.
Nine airlines will operate in the terminal, including the Air Asia Group consisting of four airlines, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, Korean Air, Spring Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
