Growing niche cargo segments helped to make 2013 a stable year for Singapore Changi Airport, even as tonnage dipped 0.3 percent in December to 157,462 tonnes.
Singapore Changi Airport’s total cargo throughput in 2013 was 1.85 million tonnes, a modest 0.8 percent increase year-over-year, as stronger imports outweighed slower exports and transshipment volumes.
There were some bright spots in niche cargo segments such as perishables and pharmaceuticals which continued to grow in 2013, the company said.
The recovery of the global airfreight industry remains fragile, and potential growth in cargo volumes, if any, will be “amidst a challenging environment as global consumer demand and cargo yields continue to remain depressed,” it further said.
“In the near term, traffic growth at Changi Airport is not expected to be as robust as what we had experienced in the recovery following the global financial crisis in 2008/09,” said Lee Seow Hiang, chief executive officer of Changi Airport Group (CAG).
To stimulate traffic, CAG will continue to offer its air cargo partners the Changi Airport Growth Initiative through March 31, 2015. Under this program, all scheduled freighter flights at the airport will receive a 50 percent landing fee rebate, and cargo tenants leasing cargo facilities at the Changi Airfreight Centre will get rebates based on cargo tonnage handled of up to 20 percent of their rentals.
Together with other growth incentives for freighter airlines, CAG’s support package for the cargo industry will amount to SGD18 million (US$14.1 million) for full year 2014-2015.
