Cascade flight cancellations at Singapore Airport

Text by: RFI Follow

Singapore Airport has lost 20,000 travelers a day since the start of the coronavirus epidemic.

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From our regional correspondent, Gabrielle Maréchaux

It is the airport for all superlatives. The one from which an airplane takes off or lands every 90 seconds. The one that was named "best airport in the world" in 2019 for the seventh consecutive year. With a waterfall, a tropical forest, a swimming pool, cinemas, a butterfly greenhouse and giant trampolines, Changi Airport is an attraction in itself, and a major player in the State of Singapore.

Bad news for the whole economy

In this context, the cancellations of more than 100 letters to Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United States between March and May is very bad news for the whole economy. Because it is the lack of demand that is the cause, and not a health precaution.

To help the aviation sector, the State of Singapore has granted it a budget of 74 million euros in the 2020 budget. Discounts on landing fees and parking are also planned. Airlines such as Singapore Airlines, which continue to offer scheduled flights to China, are fully exempt from landing fees. Currently, one in 10 travelers arriving in Singapore is Chinese. Since the start of the epidemic, the State has noted a daily loss of 20,000 travelers.

► Read also: Coronavirus: a bank in Singapore evacuated due to a confirmed case

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• Singapore
• China
• coronavirus
• Economy

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