Singapore airport welcomed 42 million passengers in 2010

Jan 20, 2011, 5:52 GMT

Singapore - Singapore's Changi airport last year welcomed more than 42 million passengers, the company said Thursday, hitting a record high as the rebound of the global economy and the city-state's two new casino resorts boosted tourism.

The number represented an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year compared and surpassed the airport's previous annual record of 37.7 million passenger movements posted in 2008, the Changi Airport Group said in a statement.

'We recovered strongly from the economic downturn to grow traffic to record levels,' chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said.

According to Switzerland-based Airports Council International, Singapore's airport ranked seventh among the world's busiest airports, based on data from October .

Changi's strong performance in 2010 was backed by the rapid expansion of low cost carriers in traffic to and from South-East and North-East Asia and a strong finish during the year-end holiday season, the airport company said.

Changi airport currently handles more than 5,400 scheduled flights per week, or one flight every two minutes, connecting Singapore with more than 200 cities worldwide, it said.

Read more about Aviation

Read more about Singapore Business