- Changi Airport experienced a disruption of its self-service check-in kiosks due to a global outage of Advanced Passenger Processing systems, which began at around 8:30am.
- The disruption affected several airlines, including Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, and Xiamen Airlines, which had to switch to manual check-in procedures.
- Ground staff at Changi Airport assisted passengers during the outage, leading to queues forming at affected terminals.
- Check-in processes for all affected airlines returned to normal around 11am after the disruption lasted approximately two-and-a-half hours.
- By 12:30pm, most self-service kiosks were operational again, although some remained down for China Southern and Xiamen Airlines.
- Scoot reported a 45-minute disruption to its check-in services at Terminal 1 and deployed additional staff to assist passengers.
- Advanced Passenger Processing systems are crucial for collecting and validating a traveller's immigration information and authorisation at the point of exit.
- The disruption affected not only Changi Airport but also other airports globally, as confirmed by CAG.
Changi Airport experienced a significant disruption on November 2, as a global outage of Advanced Passenger Processing systems rendered self-service kiosks inoperable from around 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.. This incident affected multiple airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Scoot, and Xiamen Airlines.12378910
During the outage, passengers were unable to check in independently or print boarding passes, leading to long queues at manual check-in counters. A family reportedly waited over 30 minutes to check in at Xiamen Airlines, while a Scoot passenger described receiving a paper slip instructing her to check in manually, stating she was satisfied with the staff's assistance despite the wait.4
Changi Airport Group (CAG) confirmed that the disruption was due to a global issue affecting Advanced Passenger Processing systems, which validate travelers' immigration information. CAG noted that other airports were similarly impacted, and ground staff were deployed to assist passengers during the outage.
The disruption lasted approximately two-and-a-half hours, with check-in processes returning to normal around 11 a.m.. Staff from SITA, a global IT provider, were seen troubleshooting kiosks at the airport, ensuring that operations resumed smoothly.56
As of 12:30 p.m., most kiosks were operational again, although some remained down for specific airlines, indicating a gradual return to normalcy at Changi Airport.
“The failure, which began at 8:30am, forced several airlines to use manual check-in, with Scoot experiencing a 45-minute disruption and deploying extra staff. At Xiamen Airlines' Terminal 1 counters, a queue of around 50 passengers formed after 12:45pm, with one family waiting 35 minutes.”
AsiaOne.comVnExpress International
