SATS has reopened its Inflight Catering Centre 1 on Oct 11, the first time in over two years, as it gears up for the growing travel demand.
The reopening comes at the same time as the reopening of Changi Airport’s Terminal 2’s southern wing for departure flights.
The catering centre is one of two inflight catering facilities that SATS operates in Singapore. It comprises a total of over 30 specialised kitchens to serve more than 80% of flights at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport.
According to SATS, the resumption will allow the company to meet the increased demand stemming from an acceleration in travel recovery. Inflight meals served as well as flights handled by SATS crossed 50% of its pre-pandemic levels in June. The volume of flights going through Changi Airport is expected to reach 80% of its pre-pandemic volume by the end of 2022.
In its statement on Oct 11, SATS adds that it will continue to invest in its Changi operations, further reinforcing its aviation catering, ground-handling and air cargo capabilities, providing best-in-class support to customers.
In addition, it is ramping up its annual aviation production capacity in Singapore to achieve 53 million inflight meals by 2025 through automation and the more efficient use of space.
See also: Changi Airport to reopen Terminal 2's southern wing in Oct
“With a 20% increase in production capacity, SATS is catering for demand growth to cement Changi’s air hub position not only during the year-end travel peak but also through the coming decade,” reads the statement put out by SATS.
“Food is the mainstay of many cultures even while 30,000 feet in the air. Working collaboratively, we do our best to provide customers with tasty, quality food, while driving operational efficiency and sustainability across the business. To achieve greater agility and business resilience, scale is key,” says Stanley Goh, CEO of SATS’s Food Solutions.
“Aiming for robust and resilient growth that goes beyond pre-pandemic levels, we have expanded large-scale production capabilities and integrated the supply chain across our geographical network as part of our tiered kitchen strategy,” he adds.
As at 3.30pm, shares in SATS are trading 4 cents lower or 1.34% down at $2.95.
