Pritam Singh found it “surreal” to walk through the almost barren Changi Airport

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, who took his daughters out for an ice cream treat over the weekend, recounted how he found it “surreal” to walk through the almost barren Changi Airport.

Recalling childhood memories of trips to Changi Airport in the 80s, Mr Singh added that he hopes the emptiness he saw at the airport would be a “once in a lifetime occurrence”. He wrote:

“Aviation has always been a special interest of mine. My mom brought my sister and I when we were 5 and 7 years of age (or thereabouts!) to Changi Airport when it opened in 1981.

“Taking an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 to New Delhi to visit my grandparents barely a few years later, watching planes take-off and land close up from the now secured part (post 9/11) of Changi Village Road overlooking the West Perimeter Road, are memories that don’t seem so distant.

“And so, it was a surreal experience moving around from the Jewel to Terminal 1 to a very barren Terminal 3 with so few travellers milling about after our ice-cream treat. Thought I ought to take some pictures of what I hope will be a once in a lifetime occurrence. Looking forward to coming back here very soon, in very different circumstances.”

The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Singapore in January this year, decimated the air travel industry all over the world.

Terminal 2 was suspended for 18 months from 1 May while  Terminal 4 was shut indefinitely on 16 May. The once-thriving airport quickly became almost deserted when virus prevention restrictions around the world severely depressed air travel demand.

The pandemic’s impact on Changi Airport was palpable to Mr Singh when he visited the premises with his family over the weekend. Mr Singh, who serves as the secretary-general of the Workers’ Party, said it was “surreal” to see the ordinarily bustling airport look so barren, in a Facebook post published on Tuesday (29 Sept).