SINGAPORE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced Thursday an aid package worth 100 million Singapore dollars (80 million U.S. dollars) to help airlines and other partners combat passenger traffic decline.
The one-year initiative aims at "lowering costs for airlines, boosting passenger traffic and improving operational efficiency at Changi Airport" in order to strengthen the airport's hub status, the CAG said in a statement.
Effective from July 1 this year to June 30 next year, all airlines operating at Changi Airport will enjoy an reduction in operating costs, including rebates of 50 percent on aircraft parking fees and 15 percent on aerobridge fees.
The airport operator will also introduce a new package which will reward airlines for growing transfer traffic at Changi Airport. The CAG also commits to raising efficiency of the airlines' terminal operations and will "provide funding support where appropriate."
Changi Airport, a regional air hub in Southeast Asia, has seen rapid growth for its passenger traffic during recent years. It recorded a total passenger movements of 51.2 million in 2012, passing 50 million milestone for the first time. It has been just two years after the airport crossed 40 million passenger movements in 2010.
In 2013, the airport registered a total passenger movements of 53.7 million, a rise of 5.0 percent on year.
However, the CAG also acknowledged a decline in passenger traffic, saying it has seen year-on-year declines in February and March this year.
It attributed market factors such as the rise of the Singapore dollar versus key travel markets such as India and Indonesia, and political uncertainty in Thailand, to the drop. Besides, reduced Chinese demand for travel to Southeast Asia has also dampened passenger traffic to and from these key markets, it said.
"Reflecting the intense competition to fill seats in a tight aviation landscape and the weakening of major revenue-generating currencies, airlines in the region have also observed lower yields despite growth in passenger carriage," the CAG added.
In order to stimulate traffic demand, the airport operator is scheduled to invest in destination marketing campaigns in major source markets like Australia, China, India, Indonesia and Russia.
In addition, the airport will also step up its effort to work with the ground handling and security agencies to raise productivity levels of their workforce, amid increasing manpower challenges they faced.
"CAG's incentives and support programs beyond the coming year will be calibrated depending on how traffic patterns at Changi Airport and how the operating conditions of airlines in the region develop," it said.
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