The best airport in the world has upped its game.
Singapore’s Changi Airport beat more than 550 airports at the Aviation Oscars earlier this year – and has now undergone a major redesign.
The aviation hub, which not only won the title of Best Airport in the World overall, but also Best Airport Dining and Best Airport Leisure Facilities at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2023, has undergone a ‘major’ redesign of its Terminal 2.
With this expansion, Changi can now accommodate an additional five million passengers per year, increasing the airport’s total handling capacity to 90 million passengers per year.
Notable new additions to the terminal include a 14-metre high digital waterfall, a “magical” garden with more than 20,000 plants, a dining area with panoramic views of the airport and a robot bartender serving a free cocktail in the terminal serve. passengers.
Changi Airport in Singapore, known as the best airport in the world, has “renewed and expanded” Terminal 2. One of the striking new features in the terminal is a 14 meter high digital waterfall
Passengers can enjoy “stunning panoramic views of the airport” from the terminal’s new Gourmet Garden dining room (above).
The brand new Dreamscape garden pictured is designed to “enchant with its mesmerizing variety of plants”
The “signature feature”, a statement said, is the aforementioned digital “Wonderfall” waterfall – a giant screen that shows images of flowing water.
Located in a vertical garden in the heart of the departure hall, it is designed to offer passengers a “soothing sensory experience with a seemingly endless flow of water” as they await their flight.
Passengers can get their free cocktail from Toni, the robot bartender, at the “luxurious” new two-story Lotte Duty Free Wines & Spirits store.
Inside the store is a “giant” LED ring that plays “soothing scenes of the moon reflected in a lake,” the airport reveals.
Upstairs, there’s a bar-lounge area called the Forest of Li Bai, complete with a wall of 18 whiskeys and a digital selfie mirror that lets you take pictures with K-pop stars in the frame.
Passengers can grab a free cocktail from the airport’s “robot bartender,” Toni, at the new two-story Lotte Duty Free Wines & Spirits store
With the expansion of Terminal 2, Changi can now accommodate an additional five million passengers per year
Upstairs is a bar lounge called “Forest of Li Bai,” complete with a wall of 18 whiskeys
Elsewhere in the terminal is the brand new Dreamscape Garden, designed to “enchant with its mesmerizing array of plants”. It sits under a “digital sky” that changes color depending on the time of day, the airport explains.
A statement reads: “The garden contains more than 20,000 plants, selected from around 100 species, from ferns to shrubs.” Throughout the garden, the tropical sounds of Singapore are echoed by listening to more than a hundred calls of birds, insects and other native creatures.”
Passengers can also enjoy “stunning panoramic airport views” from the terminal’s new gourmet garden dining room, adorned with “lush foliage cascading from above.”
During their stay, guests can sample cocktail fusions at The Satay Club at Harry’s, chicken rice at Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant, or fresh pastries and “Kopi Gu You Hainan” (butter coffee) at The Hainan Story bakery.
A statement reads: “The Gourmet Garden is not only a culinary hotspot, but also a place for plane spotters.”
“Up to 16 different aircraft are visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing passengers to experience the hustle and bustle on the ground.”
Guests can sample cocktail fusions at The Satay Club at Harry’s and chicken rice at Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant in the new Gourmet Garden dining room
The airport has confirmed that the terminal has fully reopened “ahead of schedule” following a three-and-a-half-year expansion project
The 2 Bear Hideout offers families a space to play and entertain their children while they wait for their flight. There, youngsters can “nest in a beehive, jump on a honeycomb or let their imagination run wild,” a statement said.
The renovated and expanded T2 added more than 21,000 square meters to the terminal building, meaning more room for new systems and retail space, the airport said.
An example of this is the Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) zone, the number of which has now almost doubled automatic check-in machines and baggage drop machines.
It is the airport’s first terminal with automated special assistance lanes for infants and passengers with disabilities upon arrival and departure at immigration.
It also benefits from a new and fully automated “early baggage storage system” that can hold up to 2,400 pieces of baggage.
The 2 Bear Hideout (above) offers families a space to play and entertain their children while they wait for their flight
The renovated and expanded T2 added more than 21,000 square meters to the terminal building, meaning more room for new systems and retail space, the airport said
The Fast and Seamless Travel (VINNIG) zone at T2 (pictured) will have almost twice as many automated check-in and bag kiosks after the expansion project
The new T2 is the airport’s first terminal with automated special helplines for small children and passengers with disabilities
After the three and a half year expansion project, the terminal was fully reopened “earlier than planned”.
At the opening ceremony of the T2 expansion last week, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean said: “The T2 expansion project started in January 2020, two months before Singapore closed its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
“But Changi Airport Group (CAG) went ahead with the expansion of T2, driven by the belief that our Changi air hub would not only recover from the pandemic but emerge stronger.”
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
