By the early 1970s Singapore's Paya Lebar Airport was running out of room. The government made the bold decision in 1975 to build an entirely new airport on reclaimed land at Changi, the island's eastern tip.
Construction moved at Singaporean speed: Changi Airport opened in December 1981 with Terminal 1, and Terminal 2 followed in 1990 as Singapore Airlines grew into one of the world's most admired carriers. The airport was conceived from the start as a statement of national excellence, with gardens, efficiency, and service standards that became legendary.
Terminal 3 opened in 2008 with its butterfly garden and light-filtering roof. The compact Terminal 4 followed in 2017, pioneering automated check-in and biometric boarding. In 2019 came Jewel, the Moshe Safdie-designed glass toroid connecting the terminals, whose 40-meter Rain Vortex is the tallest indoor waterfall on Earth.
Changi has been named the world's best airport by Skytrax more times than any other. Work on the gigantic Terminal 5, paused during the pandemic and redesigned, formally restarted in 2025. When it opens in the 2030s it will roughly double capacity and cement Changi's role as Southeast Asia's premier super-hub.