June 22 2021  |  Airlines & Airports

Changi Airport enhances its personal travel companion

By Laura Shirk

CAG has appropriately labelled STC a one-stop portal for safe travel in Singapore

Developed by Changi Airport’s Digital, Innovation, Ventures & Analytics team, The Safe Travel Concierge (STC) serves as a safe, contactless guide to navigate travel to Singapore in a post-pandemic world. As the future of connected travel, the platform is promoted as a personal travel companion for passengers.

As explained online by Changi Airport Group (CAG), the prototype was first developed and trialled, with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, at TravelRevive in November 2020. Ensuring attendees of the pilot hybrid tradeshow completed all necessary requirements before flying to Singapore, STC added an extra level of protection. In addition to guiding users through a customized list of pre-travel conditions based on their profile and trip details, the prototype allowed travelers to book and pre-pay for their COVID-19 test upon arrival. Following the success of the STC trial at TravelRevive, the team continued to enhance its design and functionality via integration.

“STC was developed with the intent of making the traveler experience for Changi Airport’s passengers more seamless. With STC, travelers no longer need to search multiple websites to complete their pre-travel requirements. The portal is easily accessible through a web browser, which eliminates the need to download another mobile application,” explains Jayson Goh, Managing Director of Airport Operations Management, Changi Airport Group.

“Since the launch of STC, we have continued to refine the platform with the feedback received. We have a dedicated team that works around-the-clock to keep track of the latest changes and developments in border regulations to ensure the tool is up-to-date and relevant.

“Based on the feedback we have received, most users are satisfied with the platform, especially the convenience of making on-arrival COVID-19 test bookings as a group. As border regulations continue to evolve and travel resumes, we encourage passengers traveling to Singapore to use STC for a smooth arrival at Changi Airport. Concurrently, we are also working with local and international travel agents to further encourage use of the portal,” he adds.

As shared in April 2021, according to Lucas Lee, Development Operations Manager, Changi Airport Group, more than 1,000 users sign-up the platform on a daily basis.


Easily accessible through a web browser, STC eliminates the need to search multiple sites or download another mobile application to complete pre-travel requirements

iChangi unifies the travel experience

When asked how Changi Airport will continue to offer a unified traveler journey across physical and digital touchpoints, Goh points out that STC is one of many projects that CAG has on the go. Regardless of the state of travel, the company actively seeks new opportunities to innovate, while also promising a safe and pleasant passenger experience.

“A key enabler is Changi Airport’s one-stop mobile application, iChangi. Over the past year, we have incorporated many new functions to make our main offerings such as STC, iShopChangi, Changi Eats and our loyalty program, Changi Rewards, available via iChangi.

“Using iChangi, passengers can make their pre-travel plans, browse duty free products and retrieve their flight information when they fly through Changi Airport. Moving forward, the vision is to provide access to all Changi offerings in a single application, giving passengers a personalized omni-channel retail experience and a smooth airport experience,” says Goh.

Passenger movements at Changi Airport

Responding to Changi Airport’s contribution to recovery, Goh says vaccination is key, as the industry works to restore confidence in air travel. In January, the airport opened Singapore’s largest vaccination center at Terminal 4. Since then, over 90% of frontline aviation workers have been vaccinated.

With a basic understanding of what is to come during the continued recovery, CAG references a graph displaying a yearly breakdown of passenger movements at Changi Airport. It shows the number of passengers as 68300K, 11800K and 601K in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Available online via Changi Airport’s website is a further breakdown of passenger, air freight and commercial aircraft movements. You can refer to the latest numbers here: https://bit.ly/3h1sOWv

Visit the following link to learn how to use STC: https://bit.ly/2RklIUg

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