Changi announces relief measures

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Airport authority Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has announced a series of relief measures to help airlines and retailers at Changi and Seletar airports

Effective from May 1 to December 31, the measures have been approved in response to the SARS outbreak, which has devastated the travel industry in south-east Asia.

All CAAS' tenants at Changi and Seletar have been granted a 10% rent rebate, estimated to generate savings of S$5.7m ($3.2m). Landside operators have also been offered a waiver of minimum monthly guarantees to compensate for the reduction in meeters and greeters at Changi. The airport said that airside retailers were already paying lower minimum monthly guarantees as they are pegged to passenger traffic, and therefore argued that a waiver was unnecessary.

A 30% rebate on landing fees has also been agreed, saving airlines an estimated $37.3m according to CAAS.

In March, passenger traffic at Changi fell by 11.2% year-on-year. The first week of April was disastrous, with the airport suffering a traffic decline of 38.3% compared with the previous year. CAAS pledged to monitor the situation and offer whatever help it can to airlines and tenants.