SINGAPORE, July 23 — The Jetstar Group said that the airline has “no intention” of moving to Changi Airport's Terminal 4 (T4) when it reopens in September, despite an earlier announcement made by Changi Airport Group (CAG) that it would be doing so.
In a strongly worded media statement yesterday (July 22), Jetstar said that the CAG had chosen to “unilaterally announce a plan” to relocate the firm’s operations to Terminal 4 “before any agreement has been reached”.
Jetstar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia's flag carrier Qantas, mainly operates from Terminal 1 at Changi Airport.
The firm said that a joint study on the move to T4 was “agreed to be undertaken last week”, adding that it was “extremely disappointed” at the way CAG had made the announcement.
“This announcement completely disregards that agreement and the impact a move would have on our customers, our people and our operations.
“While we remain committed to working with CAG, (Friday's) announcement by the airport ignores our concerns and goes against the spirit of the long-standing partnership we have built over the years,” the airline said.
It added: “Until an agreement is reached, we have no intention of moving and have informed CAG of that fact.”
Earlier yesterday, CAG announced that T4 is set to reopen on September 13. This after the terminal suspended operations in May 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In its statement earlier, CAG said that 16 airlines will move to T4 in stages beginning in September and October.
It added that Jetstar will make the move on October 25.
In response to TODAY's queries, CAG said that its engagement with Jetstar regarding the airline’s move to T4 “is not recent” and “began in 2019”. It has also already told the airline of the benefits of relocating to the reopened terminal later this year.
It added that it has accepted Jetstar’s suggestion to form a joint task force to “ensure a smooth transition for (the airline) to operate in Terminal 4”.
CAG said that before the Covid-19 pandemic, Changi Airport had been experiencing tight capacity during peak hours.
“Besides airport expansion programmes, CAG also studied various scenarios of airline terminal allocation to optimise the airport’s limited capacity across its four terminals.
“The best solution was to move Jetstar to Terminal 4, which would provide headroom to support Jetstar’s and other airlines’ growth at Changi, while at the same time ensuring that passenger experience is not compromised.”
It stressed that with airline traffic rebounding at Changi Airport this year, “there is an urgency for CAG to rebalance the airport’s traffic across its terminals quickly in the coming months to be able to meet the expected traffic demands by the northern winter season in end-October 2022”.
CAG also said that it has explained to the Jetstar Group the reason behind its planned relocation to T4.
“(This) is the only option that would allow Changi Airport to optimally use aircraft gates, especially during the early morning peak period.” CAG maintained that with 17 gates to support narrow-body aircraft, “T4 is very a good fit” for Jetstar, which operates predominately narrow-bodied aircraft.
“The terminal provides ample gate capacity to support the airline’s future growth plans and reduces the need for it to have bussing operations. With a high degree of automation at Terminal 4, there would also be opportunities for Jetstar to reap productivity gains and long-term cost savings.
“CAG has noted the concerns shared by Jetstar and has assured the airline that as much as possible, special provisions would be made to cater to the needs of its passengers to ensure a smooth travel experience.”
To facilitate the relocation, CAG has accepted Jetstar’s suggestion to form a joint task force to ensure a smooth transition for the airline to operate in T4.
CAG declined to comment on what action it may take should the Jetstar Group refuse to move to T4, but CAG stressed that it “remains committed to working closely with (the airline) to facilitate a smooth transition of their operations to T4 in October”. ― TODAY
