Singapore on Friday said it has shut the operations of Changi Airport Group's Terminal 2 for 18 months to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
"After 30 years of operations, Terminal 2 has closed her doors today for an expansion and transformation. A new experience awaits you in 18 months, according to a tweet from CAG's Twitter handle.
The T2 closed for 18 months from Friday (May 1) as the airport cuts costs during the coronavirus outbreak and start early on the planned upgrade works.
Singapore has so far reported 17,101 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 16 deaths, the health ministry said.
Airlines operating out of T2 have been reallocated to Terminals 1 and 3.
Operations at CAG's Terminal 4 could be suspended as well, The Straits Times reported.
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In general, international flights out of Changi has been suspended by airlines to check the spread of coronavirus as well as closures of many international airports.
"The suspension of operations will allow the T2 expansion works announced earlier to be accelerated. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the project can possibly be finished earlier by up to one year," the CAG said.
Acknowledging a steep decline in passenger traffic, which is likely to last for a while, CAG said it will consolidate operations in fewer terminals and save on running costs.
Except for offices and car parks in the public areas, all passenger processing facilities such as check-in, immigration, arrivals and so on will be suspended, as will retail and catering operations.
Changi Airport is Singapore's main civilian airport and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. It has four terminals.
In 2015, the airport recorded 3.44 million passenger movements on the Singapore-India sector which is served by 220 of one-way weekly flights.
For the first quarter of the year, 11 million passengers passed through Changi Airport, a decline of 32.7 per cent year-on-year. Aircraft landings and takeoffs fell 20.1 per cent to 75,900, while airfreight throughout fell 8 per cent to 453,000 tonnes.