SINGAPORE — In a first for Changi Airport, facial recognition technology will be installed at the new Terminal 4 (T4), using one photo of passengers’ faces during check-in, immigration and boarding. This will erase the need for manual identity verification by airport staff at the various check points. 

T4, the transformed version of Changi’s former budget terminal, will also house other fast and seamless travel (FAST) facilities, such as self-service and automated options for check-in, bag tagging, immigration clearance and aircraft boarding. 

Passport validation, as well as the scanning and verification of boarding passes, will also be automated to ensure speedier clearances.

Mr Yam Kum Weng, Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) executive vice-president (air hub and development), said: “With T4’s emphasis on innovation and productivity, airlines can look forward to longer-term growth coupled with lower operating cost and manpower savings. Passengers can expect passage through the various touch points to be smoother and stress-free, giving them more time to enjoy the facilities.”

T4, which has an annual handling capacity of 16 million passenger movements, is well on track to open its doors in 2017, with more than 70 per cent of the construction of the main building completed, CAG said today (July 9).

Six airlines have confirmed plans to operate out of the new terminal, including Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and the AirAsia group carriers AirAsia Berhad, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia.

This will free up capacity at the other three terminals, which are operating at more than 80 per cent of their designed capacity of 66 million passengers a year. The six airlines operate about 800 flights a week, and accounted for close to seven million passengers last year.

CAG is expecting several other airlines to operate at T4 from the start, and forecasts eight to 10 million passenger movements in the initial operating period.

Mr Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s group chief executive officer, said: “The brand-new terminal has many new innovative features that will complement and enhance AirAsia’s brand value to our passengers. The full rollout of FAST will allow us to further streamline processes for our passengers and enjoy gains from higher manpower productivity.” 

The S$1 billion T4, spanning an area of 195,000sqm, is being constructed by Takenaka Corporation.