Heads up — next time you return to Singapore from an overseas trip, expect a longer wait at the luggage belt. If you didn’t know before, Changi Airport actually has a ‘first bag on the belt in 12 minutes’ stance, but it’s recently been loosened to allow — gasp — a whopping extra few minutes.
What on earth will we do with all that time? How can the duty free shops keep us occupied till then? Will there be enough emails and texts to check? Is anyone taking note of our legit worries?
Okay, we kid. Twelve minutes or not, Changi Airport’s probably still one of the most efficient ones in the world. According to The Straits Times, this move is a result of feedback from people in the industry like ground handling firms that process passengers, bags and cargo. Thanks to a steadily increasing number of passengers and manpower costs, it’s almost impossible to maintain standards set in the past.
This change marks the airport’s first in seven years. And with differing standards for various types of carriers, passengers on budget airlines may face longer queues at check-in counters than those travelling on full-service ones. Previously, all airlines were under the same rules — no traveller should have to wait for more than 10 minutes to get to the front of the line and two minutes to be processed. But hey, if you don’t like waiting in line, thank your lucky stars that Changi is moving towards DIY options like self-service check-in, baggage tagging and aircraft boarding.
