Jetstar Says CAG Announced T4 Relocation Plan Without Agreement, Has No Intention Of Moving
As air travel slowly returns to normal after the lifting of Covid-19 border measures, Changi Airport’s dormant terminals are also coming back to life.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) has already confirmed that Terminal 4 (T4) will resume operations on 13 Sep.
That involves the relocation of 16 airlines to the terminal, including those under Jetstar Group.
However, Jetstar has said that they’re “disappointed” by these plans.
Source: Will Waters on Unsplash
CAG in turn responded by saying it’s the “best solution”.
Changi T4 relocation unilaterally announced: Jetstar
Jetstar expressed their disappointment on Friday (22 Jul), reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
The terse statement was issued shortly after CAG announced T4’s opening in a news release.
The airline said the plan to relocate them to T4 was unilaterally announced by CAG.
Photo courtesy of Changi Airport Group
No agreement reached: Jetstar
The announcement was made before any agreement had been reached, Jetstar claimed.
In fact, the only thing that was agreed to was a “joint study”, they added.
By announcing the relocation now, the airline professed that the joint study agreement, which was made last week, has been completely disregarded.
Source: Jetstar Asia on Facebook
Another consideration that was disregarded is the impact of the relocation on Jetstar’s customers, people and operations, they noted.
Jetstar has no intention of moving
Thus, until an agreement is reached, Jetstar has “no intention of moving”, they defiantly said.
The airline has already informed CAG of that fact.
Slamming the announcement made by CAG on Friday, Jetstar said,
Today’s announcement by the airport ignores our concerns and goes against the spirit of the long-standing partnership we have built over the years.
However, they still remain committed to working with CAG, the statement noted.
Jetstar move to Changi T4 the best solution: CAG
On the same day, a CAG spokesman responded by telling CNA that Jetstar’s move to T4 was “the best solution”.
This is because T4 has 17 gates that support narrow-body aircraft. It’s thus “a very good fit” for Jetstar as its fleet predominately comprises such aircraft.
The relocation to T4 is in fact “the only option that would allow the airport to optimally use its aircraft gates”.
Source: Changi Airport on Facebook
The move will also allow the growth of Jetstar and other airlines to be supported, as well as ensure “passenger experience is not compromised”, CAG said.
CAG cited the urgency to rebalance airport traffic across terminals quickly to meet air traffic demand expected over the year-end holiday season, especially with air travel getting back to normal.
Discussions with Jetstar over started in 2019: CAG
Though Jetstar said no agreement had been reached, CAG pointed out that both parties had begun discussions over the move in 2019, before the pandemic.
This was because Changi Airport was experiencing tight capacity during peak hours, they added.
CAG had also agreed when Jetstar suggested forming a joint taskforce so that the transition to T4 would be smooth.
Jetstar slated to move on 25 Oct
With the reopening of T4, Jetstar is slated to move there on 25 Oct. It’s currently operating from Terminal 1.
Jetstar Asia Airways and Jetstar Airways are among 16 airlines that are supposed to move to T4 after its reopening.
Here’s the full list of the airlines and their relocation dates:
Source: Changi Airport Group
Hopefully both parties can reach resolution
Terminal 4 isn’t as well-connected as the other terminals are, so it’s not surprising that Jetstar may be reluctant to move.
However, as air traffic piles up in Changi Airport, CAG has to think about the smooth operations of all airlines and passengers.
Hopefully, both parties can reach some form of resolution soon.
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Featured image from Jetstar Asia on Facebook and courtesy of Changi Airport Group.
