Singapore Changi Airport handled 2.13 million tonnes of cargo in 2017, according to annual traffic statistics released by Changi Airport Group.

This represented a year-on-year growth of 7.9% and is the first time the airport has crossed the 2-million-tonne milestone for annual throughput.

Imports grew by 8%, exports by 14% and transhipments by 4%. The top five markets for air freight were China, Australia, Hong Kong, the United States and India.

December was once again the busiest month of the year, with the airport having handled 188,740 tonnes of air freight, an increase of 6.4%.

“2017 was a significant year for Changi Airport, as we saw strong growth in both passenger traffic and cargo throughput, resulting in record numbers,” said Lim Ching Kiat, managing director of air hub development at CAG. “We also opened the new tech-friendly Terminal 4, which served 1.3 million passengers in its first two months of operations. With the establishment of new city links to many parts of the world, and the launch of a number of non-stop long-haul routes, we have also expanded our connectivity, providing greater convenience for our passengers.”

During the year, Hebei Airlines, Norwegian and US-Bangla Airlines began operations at Changi Airport, while new passenger links were established to Athens, Bintulu, Harbin, Hiroshima, Honolulu, Madurai, Okinawa, Shijiazhuang, Stockholm and Yantai.

SATS opened its eCommerce AirHub in April, enhancing Changi’s e-commerce capabilities with a new automated airside mail sortation facility.

Changi Airport also became the first airport community in Asia Pacific to attain the IATA CEIV Pharma certification. Additionally, Changi Airport Group formalized the Pharma@Changi initiative in October together with nine other partners from across each node of the supply chain. The partners will jointly pursue the best standards in pharmaceuticals handling and will promote Singapore Changi Airport as a trusted and reliable pharmaceuticals air cargo hub in the region.

“Looking ahead in 2018, we expect to see more developments in the long-haul segments to Europe,” Lim said. “This includes Scoot’s non-stop service to Berlin, and LOT Polish Airlines’ new service connecting Singapore and Warsaw. We will also welcome the return of Qantas’ Singapore-London route and an overall increase in seat capacity between Singapore and Australia, as well as Lufthansa’s resumption of its service to Munich. At the same time, we will continue our efforts to strengthen our connectivity to secondary cities in China and India – our fastest-growing markets in 2017.”