Travel technology on show as airport opens T4 for public preview

SINGAPORE — Members of the public will be able to visit Changi Airport’s new Terminal 4 (T4) during a two-week open house next month, before operations begin there later this year. 

From Aug 7 to Aug 20, the event will be free-of-charge and open to everyone, including tourists. 

Entry is by ticket only and anyone interested in going can register online for tickets pegged to specific dates and times at T4OpenHouse.com. The website opens on Wednesday. About 200,000 tickets will be on offer, with up to 15,000 tickets available per day. One person can register for as many as six people. 

Visitors will get to learn about Fast and Seamless Travel (Fast) technology, which includes facial recognition and self-bag tagging. They will also have the opportunity to experience self-bag tagging firsthand. 

The experience aims to help the public overcome any hesitance they may have about using the new self-service technology, Ms Poh Li San, T4 Programme Management Office’s vice-president, explained on Tuesday.

Visitors will also get a special “boarding pass” which can be used to activate a T4 Open House app on their phones. 

They can use it to take a self-guided tour around the terminal, which will take between 60 and 90 minutes and cover features such a Heritage Zone, kinetic art displays and an integrated duty-free shopping area — although nothing will be available for purchase except for pre-orders via the iShopChangi portal.

There will be no guided tours although more than 300 Changi Airport Group employees will be volunteering to help out.

Visitors can play in-app games at various locations to win e-vouchers for Changi Airport’s retail and food and  beverage outlets. 

Two pairs of airline tickets will be up for grabs daily in a lucky draw.
Construction of T4 began in early 2013 and was completed in December last year. 

At Tuesday's briefing, Ms Poh said that the new terminal is “fully ready” and will open later this year after trials are completed. 

Over 100 trials have been conducted over the last two weeks, including three live flight tests. 

Visitors can get to T4 via car, taxi, public transport or a free shuttle service from Terminal 3. 

Food and beverages will not be sold during the open house, but water coolers will be available.