Calling all air passengers in Singapore! No more final calls at Changi Airport from Jan 1

Changi Airport
A general view of the check-in area of the departure hall during a media tour of Changi Airport Terminal 4 in Singapore July 25, 2017 Edgar Su/Reuters

In a bid to lessen noise inside the airport, the management of Singapore Changi Airport has decided to stop announcing last or final calls for boarding and late passengers. All passengers at Changi Airport have been urged to come early and be more cautious when the new policy takes effect starting January 1, 2018.

All Changi Airport terminals will soon be quieter than usual in the year to come as its paging system has been revamped. According to Changi Airport Group (CAG) spokesperson Ivan Tan, the new move is designed to make a more relaxed airport environment so passengers can pay more attention to announcements that matter more.

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"With more flights and passengers, maintaining the present frequency of announcements will mean noisier terminals and more interruptions in time to come," says Tan. "One concern is that passengers may pay less attention to the announcements made over the public address system, crowding out the more critical announcements."

Each terminal of the airport makes an announcement every five minutes on average according to CAG. This will soon be cut by half starting Monday.

By then, passengers can only expect calls for lost and found children and passports, gate changes, flight delays, belt changes, emergencies and other more important announcements.

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Changi Airport is not the first to implement this "fewer announcements" policy, with air terminals in other countries already had it in place since years ago, including Hong Kong International Airport, London City Airport and Brussels Airport.

All airlines have been ordered to stress out the boarding time, gate number and check-ins of departing passengers once this policy is in full swing. CAG has also disseminated the information through the flight information display screens, Changi Airport's website and the iChangi app.

This article was first published on December 27, 2017
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