SINGAPORE, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Changi Airport recorded 17.6 million passenger movements in the first quarter, up 2.3 percent year-on-year, driven by strong demand to and from North Asia and Europe even as the Middle East crisis weighed on some routes, the Changi Airport Group said on Friday.
Aircraft movements, including landings and takeoffs, totaled 95,300 for the quarter, a 1.4 percent increase from a year earlier, the group said in a statement.
Passenger traffic between Singapore and the Middle East plunged 80 percent in March from a year earlier.
Changi's top five markets in the quarter were China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and India. Among its top ten markets, Vietnam and China posted the strongest growth, rising 26.5 percent and 17.7 percent year-on-year, respectively.
Lim Ching Kiat, executive vice president for air hub and cargo development at Changi Airport Group, said the airport remained resilient despite disruption from the Middle East crisis, adding that it worked closely with airline partners to respond to shifting demand and travel patterns.
In March, amid flight cancellations on Middle Eastern routes, airlines launched about 90 additional flights linking Singapore with cities including Frankfurt, London, Munich, Muscat, Paris, Perth and Sydney. ■