Airport review: Why Singapore Changi Airport is the world's best airport
Ben Groundwater11:24, Feb 22 2019
CHANGI AIRPORT
A day in the life of Singapore's Changi Airport, one of the world's busiest, portrayed in a stunning timelapse.
OPINION: Ben Groundwater reviews the airport frequently dubbed the world's best.
THE FLIGHT
SQ388 to Barcelona, economy
SUPPLIED
You'll be hoping your flight is delayed once you discover all the facilities available
THE ARRIVAL
Although Changi is linked to Singapore's MRT rail network and is a simple one-hour train ride from the centre of the city, I'm opting for a taxi, which only costs SGD20 (NZ$21.70) and takes about 25 minutes. Other transport options include a public bus service, or limousine hire.
READ MORE:
* Dubai International Airport is a disappointment
* Melbourne's new budget carrier terminal T4 is infuriating
* Guide to the world's best and worst airports
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CHANGI AIRPORT
It doesn't even feel like killing time in Changi.
THE LOOK
I'm flying out of Terminal 3, a SGD1.75 billion (NZ$1.9 billion) facility that opened in 2008 and is dazzling from the minute you step into it. That would be because of the ceiling, which has 919 computer-controlled skylights with butterfly-shaped reflectors to manage the amount of natural light pouring into the terminal. And that terminal, despite its popularity, always feels calm and airy.
CHECK-IN
CHANGI AIRPORT
Even the baggage carousel is nice.
"Look at the queue," I say to my partner, pointing towards the check-in counters. "What queue?" she replies. Exactly. There is no queue. There never seems to be a queue at Changi. We sail straight in, check our bags to Barcelona and proceed to security.
SECURITY
Again, a minimal wait here as our passports are stamped. There are no scanners to go through though; security at Changi is done at each individual gate.
CHANGI AIRPORT
Changi Airport, Singapore, has incredible facilities, including a roof-top pool, movie theatre, indoor garden, and four-storey slide.
FOOD AND DRINK
The impressive thing about the food at Changi is not so much that it's affordable and tasty, but that it so faithfully reflects the gastronomic traditions of the city it services. That's a simple concept, but not one that often applies to airports, which exist in their own cookie-cutter fast-food vacuums. Changi T3, meanwhile, has "Singapore Food Street", a recreation of one of the city's iconic hawker centres. Most dining here is landside, before passport control, where you'll find classic Malay coffee stands, Indian food, Chinese, American, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese … and a place called Heavenly Wang.
RETAIL THERAPY
Shoppers, strap in. T3 has almost 100 stores that sell everything from gifts to plane snacks, watches to haute couture, cosmetics to alcohol. You could spend your entire holiday wandering the halls of T3 and never grow bored.
PASSING TIME
It doesn't even feel like killing time in Changi. In fact you'll be hoping your flight is delayed once you discover all the facilities available, even just in T3. The terminal has six airline lounges, one of which operates on a pay-per-use basis. There's also a butterfly garden, numerous public artworks, a dedicated sleeping area, movie theatre, children's play area, gym with shower facilities, a slippery slide, a transit hotel – and if you're bored with all of that, free tours of Singapore city are also offered.
ONE MORE THING
Leave plenty of time to get to your gate at Changi: not only is bag scanning done just before boarding, which can cause delays, but some of the gates in T3 can be a 10 or 15-minute walk away, even with travellators.
THE VERDICT
Changi is almost universally regarded as the world's best airport, and rightly so. The facilities here are phenomenal, with so much to see and do, eat and buy that you pretty much never want your flight to take off. The only tiny downside is the long hike to some of the gates.
OUR RATING OUT OF 5
4.5
Ben Groundwater11:24, Feb 22 2019
CHANGI AIRPORT
A day in the life of Singapore's Changi Airport, one of the world's busiest, portrayed in a stunning timelapse.
OPINION: Ben Groundwater reviews the airport frequently dubbed the world's best.
THE FLIGHT
SQ388 to Barcelona, economy
SUPPLIED
You'll be hoping your flight is delayed once you discover all the facilities available
THE ARRIVAL
Although Changi is linked to Singapore's MRT rail network and is a simple one-hour train ride from the centre of the city, I'm opting for a taxi, which only costs SGD20 (NZ$21.70) and takes about 25 minutes. Other transport options include a public bus service, or limousine hire.
READ MORE:
* Dubai International Airport is a disappointment
* Melbourne's new budget carrier terminal T4 is infuriating
* Guide to the world's best and worst airports
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with Stuff
CHANGI AIRPORT
It doesn't even feel like killing time in Changi.
THE LOOK
I'm flying out of Terminal 3, a SGD1.75 billion (NZ$1.9 billion) facility that opened in 2008 and is dazzling from the minute you step into it. That would be because of the ceiling, which has 919 computer-controlled skylights with butterfly-shaped reflectors to manage the amount of natural light pouring into the terminal. And that terminal, despite its popularity, always feels calm and airy.
CHECK-IN
CHANGI AIRPORT
Even the baggage carousel is nice.
"Look at the queue," I say to my partner, pointing towards the check-in counters. "What queue?" she replies. Exactly. There is no queue. There never seems to be a queue at Changi. We sail straight in, check our bags to Barcelona and proceed to security.
SECURITY
Again, a minimal wait here as our passports are stamped. There are no scanners to go through though; security at Changi is done at each individual gate.
CHANGI AIRPORT
Changi Airport, Singapore, has incredible facilities, including a roof-top pool, movie theatre, indoor garden, and four-storey slide.
FOOD AND DRINK
The impressive thing about the food at Changi is not so much that it's affordable and tasty, but that it so faithfully reflects the gastronomic traditions of the city it services. That's a simple concept, but not one that often applies to airports, which exist in their own cookie-cutter fast-food vacuums. Changi T3, meanwhile, has "Singapore Food Street", a recreation of one of the city's iconic hawker centres. Most dining here is landside, before passport control, where you'll find classic Malay coffee stands, Indian food, Chinese, American, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese … and a place called Heavenly Wang.
RETAIL THERAPY
Shoppers, strap in. T3 has almost 100 stores that sell everything from gifts to plane snacks, watches to haute couture, cosmetics to alcohol. You could spend your entire holiday wandering the halls of T3 and never grow bored.
PASSING TIME
It doesn't even feel like killing time in Changi. In fact you'll be hoping your flight is delayed once you discover all the facilities available, even just in T3. The terminal has six airline lounges, one of which operates on a pay-per-use basis. There's also a butterfly garden, numerous public artworks, a dedicated sleeping area, movie theatre, children's play area, gym with shower facilities, a slippery slide, a transit hotel – and if you're bored with all of that, free tours of Singapore city are also offered.
ONE MORE THING
Leave plenty of time to get to your gate at Changi: not only is bag scanning done just before boarding, which can cause delays, but some of the gates in T3 can be a 10 or 15-minute walk away, even with travellators.
THE VERDICT
Changi is almost universally regarded as the world's best airport, and rightly so. The facilities here are phenomenal, with so much to see and do, eat and buy that you pretty much never want your flight to take off. The only tiny downside is the long hike to some of the gates.
OUR RATING OUT OF 5
4.5
Can we have a "PAP is the Best" thread and merge all these threads together? 
