Aviation industry to recover from the bad year

"The international aviation industry was badly affected by the economic downturn last year, but Changi fared better than we anticipated," said Mrs Lim Hwee Hua.

The Second Minister for Finance and Transport said Changi's better-than-expected performance was helped by a strong recovery towards the end of 2009. "Changi handled 37.2 million passengers in 2009, a marginal 1.3% decline from 2008. The December 2009 figures were especially encouraging - passenger traffic grew 9.7% year-on-year, recording the highest passenger volume ever of 3.83 million," she said.

According to the speech at the Committee of Supply (Air Transport), "The strong momentum continued into January this year, with Changi achieving a 10.1% growth, year-on-year. In terms of aircraft movements, Changi actually experienced a growth of 3.6% in 2009 over 2008."

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua is confident that the aviation industry is well-prepared even as it starts 2010 on a cautiously optimistic note.