24th August 2021

Singapore’s Changi Airport is massive and known as the best airport in the world.  There are three terminals linked by automated trains that take the just landed passengers to departures and luggage collection.  Changi is a beautiful airport, especially if you like tropical plants. Today my flight landed in Terminal 3 early afternoon, Singapore time.

However in the time of COVID, things are very different.  John and I came to Changi Airport both on the way to and the way home from the UK in May 2019, when Alex was tiny.  I remember a beautiful airport, with plants everywhere that passengers were gathering  I remember large koi fish in ponds and a butterfly garden in the passenger lounge. There were also walls of exotic tropical plants.  None of that is currently accessible to transiting passengers.

The incredible garden complex of Jewel, which I would have loved to have seen. and the day trips to see the sights of Singapore are also not accessible to transiting passengers.  In the time of COVID, it is about keeping us all separate from anyone who is coming or going from Singapore. Transiting passengers are not allowed to mix with anyone else in the airport.  Plus of course, masks are mandatory while in the airport, unless you are eating or drinking.

It was raining as we started to came into land, which made interesting patterns across the window. The low cloud made for misty photos.

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Because I am travelling with the rolling walker and my osteoarthritis plays up when I sit for any length of time, I have MAAS – the Meet And Assist Service from airport staff.  I knew I would have to wait until the plane had been emptied before I would get off the plane.  That was to give the baggage handlers time to bring the walker back up to the plane door for me to use.  That gave one of the hostesses time to have her photo taken with Fin and me.

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I received a bright green ribbon on my right wrist that designates me as a transiting passenger. The only place I am going to be allowed to be is the transit area of Terminal 3.  There is a premium waiting area, which Business class passengers can access, or there is the economy hall.  In truth, there isn’t a lot of creature comforts in either, but the economy does have a lighter feel to it, even if they are lacking comfy chairs for waiting.

I was taken from the plane door to the concourse area in a wheelchair, although I didn’t really need it. Once there, my assistant ushered me my cabin luggage to a golf buggy cart and we headed through the empty corridors to the transit areas. 

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Boy did the view look different.  So many waiting areas, that would have been packed with passengers waiting for their flights were closed up with their chairs wrapped in clear plastic.  I expressed surprise at this.  My helper said it had been like that for a year and a half.  Such a change.

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Corridors empty.  Escalators empty.  Moving walkways stationery and blocked off.  No one walking along trying to work out where they were meant to be.

It didn’t take long to reach the transit lounge and with my boarding pass, I was allowed in.  My helper said someone would be back to help me when it was time to board my next flight, which is the one to Manchester.  He decided that my hand luggage was too much for me to manage on my own, so he gave me a wheelchair for my bags. That was nice of him.  Especially as John’s ashes are quite heavy.

Inside the premium transit lounge, there are a variety of seats available, including some recliners for snoozing in.

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There are not many in the transit lounge.  My fellow female traveller is here, but I am not sure if the guys from the flight are.  Most are young men, except the one guy who decided that to watch his video on his phone, he would not wear headphones and he needed to have the sound up, despite having the phone quite close to his face.  I just wanted to tell him to turn down the volume or find a member of staff to make him do that.  But there isn’t anyone around.  We are alone, except for one female staff member who is checking eligibility to enter this area and one who seems to live behind a set of wall dividers and is taking care of food orders.

Luckily, my noisy friend decided to stop watching his movie and get some sleep – snoring instead.

Food and drinks in the lounge are complimentary.  To order, scan the QR code and select what you want.  Then the lady behind the dividers will make your order up in the tiniest food boxes I’ve ever seen.  The options are very limited.  But the chicken pasta was ok, along with a cup of tea and a cracker biscuit.  It was a microwave job, not really Business Class Lounge quality. 

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When I went out to find the toilets, which are out in the Economy transit lounge, their food options are more varied and are made by restaurants, taking around 45 minutes to be delivered and costing a fair bit.  There is also a snack cart full of junk food.  I will explore options for dinner, although I will get supper on the flight to Manchester.  When I located the toilets, I was taken back to our last holiday in Japan.

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There is a bidet built into the toilet.  In Japan, these are the norm.  I always thought it would be pretty cool to have one, especially with a seat warmer.  I’ll leave it at that.

With 10 hours to waste in the transit lounge, sleeping for some of the time seemed like a good way to not watch the clock and the slow passage of the hours.  So I planted Fin and me on one of the recliners.  Put my hoodie hood on and with my mask on, partly blocking the light from the windows, was able to close my eyes and get some sleep.  I don’t know how long I slept, but I woke up to find that the number of people in the lounge had reduced.  There were now only three of us.

As I write this, it is dark outside (9.15 pm Singapore time) and the numbers have grown again, there are now about 18 of us.  They all come in pretty much together, just as confused as I was about how things work in this transit lounge.

Thankfully, there are chargers in here, so I have recharged my phone and laptop.

So that has been my introduction to Singapore Changi Terminal 3 Premium Transit Lounge.