A new departure: Changi Airport T5 as a unique lifestyle destination

While Changi Airport already offers shopping and eating galore, T5 is a bold step in the direction of reimagining airports as lifestyle hubs and destinations in their own right, driven by a surge in travellers with new expectations of their flying experience, says NTU NBS Adjunct Professor Lynda Wee in a commentary for The Straits Times.

For a city like Singapore, renowned for design, innovation, technology and hospitality, the airport must reflect not just where people are going, but how they want to feel when they get there.

So how does an airport, already ranked best in the world, go further? What could T5 look like, in those terms?

The answers require a reimagination of travel retail as an experience, not just an offering.

An important consideration is that airports are the gateways to a nation’s soul. They are often the first hello and the final goodbye. 

T5 can set the global standard for what airports can become – not just holding spaces, but meaningful places.  

In 2024, Changi Airport handled over 67.7 million passengers, with a significant portion in transit, on their way to other destinations but choosing to stop in Singapore.

This group is expected to rise as Asia-Pacific becomes the world’s largest aviation market by 2040 owing to the emerging economies and increased tourism interest in Asian cities.

Transit and transfer passengers have unique needs and mindsets.

They are often time-rich – stranded for several hours between flights – and experience-hungry, eager to convert their waiting time into something worthwhile and memorable. For travel retail, transit time presents transformation opportunities.

Yet, until recently, travellers have been perceived as transient, just passing through to reach their destinations. As a result, they are offered straightforward, functional stores selling products – wines and spirits, gadgets, chocolates, cosmetics and fragrances, to name a few.

Today’s travellers are different.

With global brands just a click away, the urgency to buy at the airport has faded. Add baggage constraints and a growing preference for seamless digital experiences, and traditional travel retail begins to feel dated.

Meanwhile, the traveller is also changing. Business travellers are now frequent fliers as global business grows. Leisure travellers increasingly view travel as a lifestyle, not a luxury.

Together, they form a new consumer base that is digitally fluent, experience-seeking and willing to invest in moments that feel personal.

The answer is to offer a terminal that is not just a place of transit, but a destination with curated lifestyle zones.

The expected surge in traveller numbers brings more than just logistical scale and complexity. It reflects a shift in traveller profiles. 

As a global aviation hub connecting Asia, Europe and the Pacific, Singapore welcomes not only more tourists and business travellers, but also a growing tide of transit and transfer passengers.  

This commentary is by Nanyang Business School's Adjunct Associate Professor Dr Lynda Wee and was first published by  The Straits Times.