'Hungry, thirsty and exhausted': Crawling traffic, long waits for rides frustrate Singapore Airshow visitors

SINGAPORE — Waiting almost three hours for a taxi ride from the Singapore Airshow to her hotel was not something Inga Duglas, a senior corporate executive, expected after attending the first day of the show on Feb 20.

When she eventually got into a taxi, her fare from Changi Exhibition Centre, where the show is taking place till Feb 25, to central Singapore at 7.30pm came to $120, said Duglas, expressing surprise her ride would be "so expensive".

"I was hungry, thirsty and exhausted," the 38-year-old told The Straits Times on the evening of Feb 21.

The 2024 edition of the biennial aerospace and defence exhibition has been drawing complaints about the heavy traffic in and out of the showgrounds, with some visitors telling ST traffic arrangements were poorly organised.

The first four days of the show, from Feb 20 to 23, is for trade attendees. The show is open to the public on the last two days, on Feb 24 and 25.

Duglas was among 23 trade visitors and exhibitors interviewed by ST about their experience getting into and out of the showgrounds.

Some said they had to endure several kilometres of crawling traffic into the exhibition centre due to reduced access to Aviation Park Road and Tanah Merah Coast Road, as well as the inability to secure private-hire car and taxi rides to and from Changi Exhibition Centre.

Others spoke of the sky-high fares for these rides, and the long queues for the airshow shuttle, which plies between Singapore Expo and the exhibition centre.

Visitors have to pay a location surcharge of $15, on top of the metered fare, for taxi services leaving Changi Exhibition Centre until Feb 25.

Commercial executive Stanley Raj, 45, said this is the "worst transportation experience" he has had, when compared with other airshows he had visited, including the Paris Air Show in June 2023 and the Dubai Airshow in November 2023.

To exit the showgrounds on Feb 21 at around 5pm, Raj waited more than 35 minutes for his private-hire car ride.

That morning, his ride to the exhibition centre was stuck in a 45-minute jam because of lane closures and security checkpoints.

Jayne Low, who is part of an exhibitor's team that drove to the Singapore Airshow, said she was caught in traffic for about 20 minutes at around 9am on Feb 21.

This was because officers slowed traffic down significantly by checking the identities of all passengers in each vehicle with a parking label, said the managing director in her 40s.

Low, who has attended several editions of the Singapore Airshow, added: "It is the same thing for every edition... If they can manage (vehicular) traffic for Coldplay fans, they can surely do this for the airshow."

ST reporters heading to the show experienced several instances of private-hire car drivers cancelling their rides to the exhibition centre on Feb 21 and 22.

Part-time private-hire car driver George Liow, 37, told ST most drivers would not travel specially to the venue for a single fare, as they would need to navigate the jam and detours.

He added: "Who in the right mind would come in all the way to the venue to pick someone up for a small sum of money?"

Traffic appeared to have improved slightly on Feb 22, with the stream of vehicles heading into the exhibition grounds moving faster than in previous days.

Arie Cahya, a 29-year-old procurement executive who took a taxi into the showgrounds, said the traffic was smoother on Feb 22 than the day before, when he was stuck in a gridlock at 9am for half an hour.

ST has contacted the airshow organiser, Experia Events, for comment.

Some 50,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the first four days of the event, and more than 60,000 public visitors are set to throng the Changi showgrounds over the Feb 24 and 25 weekend.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.