Updated: 02/21/2013 01:53

Passenger movements hit 4.3m, up 1.9%, in January for Changi Airport

Singapore's Changi Airport handled 4.33 million passenger movements in January 2013, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to a year ago.

Air traffic movements for the month grew in tandem - by 2.2 per cent to 28,200 flights.

But the growth of 1.9 per cent for passenger movements is much lower than the 12.1 per cent of the same month in 2012.

January 2012 enjoyed the surge from the Lunar New Year holidays, while this year's Lunar New Year holidays are in February.

This meant that there was a higher traffic base, compared to January this year.

Among Changi Airport's top 10 country markets, growth in air travel demand was strongest for Australia, Japan and Thailand.

Traffic to and from Sydney, Tokyo and Bangkok increased by 10 per cent or more.

Airfreight movements saw an increase of 2.5 per cent on-year, as air shipments picked up ahead of the Lunar New Year period.

A total of 140,300 tonnes of cargo passed through Changi Airport during the month