Changi Airport handled 159,700 tonnes of cargo in October, making it the strongest month of the year apart from March, and recovering from the decline seen in September.

The October figure is up from the September slump of 147,800 tonnes. Cargo volumes have been volatile throughout the year, rising and falling from month to month.

In January, Changi handled 150,300 tonnes, falling to 126,800 tonnes in February before rising to the yearly high of March, when it handled 169,800 tonnes. April dropped to 151,100 tonnes rising again to 157,500 tonnes in May.

June, July and August were the only months to see consecutive rises, handling 154,700 tonnes, 155,000 tonnes and 156,000 tonnes, respectively. October saw a year-on-year rise of 2.1 per cent, compared to a 2.7 per cent decline in September. Year-on-year growth, like cargo volumes, has been volatile throughout 2014. 

January was up 3.8 per cent, while February and March were down by 2.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. April was up by 0.5 per cent followed by a rise of 3.5 per cent in May. June and July were down by 0.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

August saw the biggest year-on-year increase of 4.1 per cent, followed by the decline in September and rise in October. Year-to-date Changi has handled 1.5 million tonnes, an increase of 0.5 per cent on 2013.

The airport also announced that Vietnam Airlines started a twice-weekly service to Phu Quoc (Vietnam) on 2 November. From 27 October, SriLankan Airlines had increased its frequency of flights to 19 per week from five for the destination of Colombo.In September, Changi announced that MIAT Mongolian Airlines, the Mongolian national carrier, would operate a twice-weekly service between Ulaanbaatar and Singapore, via Beijing, using a Boeing 737-800.