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Last call for final boarding announcements

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Passengers to stop getting boarding alerts as Changi cuts down on announcements

Travellers at Changi Airport will have to watch the clock if they do not want to miss their flights.

From Monday, there will no longer be final call announcements for passengers to head to their boarding gates. Airlines will also stop paging for specific passengers.

Only essential announcements will be made, including those pertaining to emergencies, lost and found children and passports, flight delays, gate changes, and belt changes.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) said the cessation of certain announcements will help ensure that passengers and visitors will pay attention as and when announcements are made.

It will also make Changi a more pleasant and quiet airport, with the number of announcements set to be halved with the new initiative.

"With more flights and passengers, maintaining the present frequency of announcements will mean noisier terminals and more interruptions in time to come," CAG spokesman Ivan Tan said.

"One concern is that passengers may pay less attention to the announcements made over the public address system, crowding out the more critical announcements."

Currently, each terminal sees an average of one announcement made about every five minutes, Mr Tan said.

In 2004, when the airport asked airlines to either make a final call for boarding or page for passengers - instead of doing both - there was no observable impact on the number of passengers showing up late for their flights, he added.

Commenting on the latest initiative, Jetstar Group spokesman Robin Goh said: "Final boarding announcements and paging for late passengers serve as final reminders to all passengers and, hence, they help contribute to the on-time performance of airlines and Changi Airport."

While many other major international airports have started adopting this "silent airport" trend, "it will impact all airlines operating out of Changi Airport and their passengers", he said.

To prepare for the change, CAG has requested all airlines to emphasise the boarding time to their passengers when they check in and to advise them to be at the gate on time.

Mr Tan said: "Passengers are advised to plan ahead and be at the boarding gates on time for a stress-free journey."

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