Singapore - Passenger volume at Singapore's Changi Airport increased by 2.7 per cent year-on-year to 37.7 million despite the global economic slowdown towards the second half of 2008, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Wednesday.

However, the economic impact was felt in the cargo sector, with airfreight movements dipping 2 per cent to 1.86 million tons last year.

The CAAS' director-general and chief executive officer, Lim Kim Choon, has acknowledged that 2009 would be a challenging year and recognised the tough operating environment in which airlines and airports were operating.

Elaborating, the CAAS said the financial tsunami left its mark in the last four months of 2008. Passenger traffic declined in September, November and December due to negative sentiment and decreased travel demand.

It said both regional and long-haul sectors registered growth in passenger traffic, but traveller numbers from Thailand and China dropped by 10.9 per cent and 5.2 per cent, respectively. (dpa)