Ask any frequent traveler for his or her favorite airport, and chances are the answer will be Singapore Changi. Especially after the opening of Singapore Changi Jewel (it has an indoor forest and the world’s largest indoor waterfall; see it in video here), the airport is a draw in itself.
But make no mistake. If you’re not planning to fly, you can’t visit Singapore Changi past immigration/security by buying a boarding pass. In fact, the Singapore Police Force just issued a warning about this rule after, per CNN, a “27-year-old bought a ticket purely to walk his wife to the gate and had ‘no intention to depart Singapore.'” The man was arrested.
And he’s not the only one to find out the hard way that you can’t visit Singapore Changi without flying. “Anyone accessing the gate-side areas at Changi without intending to fly can be prosecuted under Singapore’s Infrastructure Protection Act,” says CNN, “and fined up to S$20,000 (US$14,300) or imprisoned for up to two years. Thirty three people have been arrested under the legislation in the first eight months of 2019.”
To experience the entirety of the world’s best airport, you’ll need to fly in or out of it. It’s another example of why you should make sure you know the local laws and culture before you arrive somewhere new. Help yourself avoid trouble!
More Singapore and Singapore Changi
- Video: Inside the New Singapore Changi “Jewel”
- 6 Top Budget Restaurants in Singapore
- Video: The Raffles Singapore, an Icon in Hospitality
- Singapore: From Fishing Village to Modern Metropolis
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Not accurate. You can visit a good part of Changi, just not go past Passport Control/Immigration if you don’t intend to take your flight.
Thanks! We corrected the info
Who determines if you intend to take the flight? If the party had a ticket and proper paper work with him, maybe he could have changed his mind at the last minute?