Singapore Airlines’ flight schedule for April makes me sad

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will be operating slightly over 300 flights in April, with outbound service to just 13 destinations.

Here’s something to chew over.

This is Singapore Airline’s and SilkAir’s regular route network, that was in operation as recently as January.

And here’s where they’re flying to in April.

Outbound destinations from SIN only (HAN and SGN are inbound)

It makes for painful viewing.

This isn’t unique to Singapore Airlines, of course. Airlines around the world have been eviscerated by the Covid-19 outbreak, and air traffic is at an all-time low.ย Pay a visit to Changi now, and you’ll probably see something like this:

Photo credit: Alan Neo

At the same time, it’s extra poignant to see this hitting so close to home. Every cancelled flight means more pay cuts, more staff and pilots asked to go on unpaid leave, more hardship for those in support services like catering and baggage handling.

What flights are still operating in April?

It speaks volumes that when Singapore Airlines announced its first Covid-19 related flight cancellations in February, the accompanying documents listed the dates of cancelled flights…

…whereas now, it’s become easier to simply list the dates where flights are operating.ย 

All in all, I count 308 flights scheduled for April, from Singapore to 13 destinations (I’m not including Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City in the destination count, since these are only scheduled inbound to Singapore). That works out to about 4-5 flights departing Singapore daily. 4-5!ย 

The details, if you’re interested…

Services to Southeast Asia (Source)
Flight Number Route Operating Dates (April 2020)
SQ976 Singaporeย ย ย  Bangkok 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24,
26, 27
SQ979 Bangkokย ย ย  Singapore 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24,
26, 27
SQ175 Hanoiย ย ย  Singapore 3, 10, 17, 24
SQ177 Ho Chi Minh Cityย ย ย  Singapore 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30
SQ966 Singaporeย ย ย  Jakarta 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15,
16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27,
29, 30
SQ967 Jakartaย ย ย  Singapore 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15,
16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27,
29, 30
SQ104 Singaporeย ย ย  Kuala Lumpur 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22,
24, 27, 29
SQ105 Kuala Lumpurย ย ย  Singapore 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22,
24, 27, 29
SQ910 Singaporeย ย ย  Manila 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27
SQ917 Manilaย ย ย  Singapore 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27
Services to North Asia (Source)
Flight Number Route Operating Dates (April 2020)
MI972 Singaporeย ย ย  Chongqing 6, 13, 20, 27
MI971 Chongqingย ย ย  Singapore 6, 13, 20, 27
SQ600 Singaporeย ย ย  Seoul 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29
SQ609 Seoulย ย ย  Singapore 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29
SQ830 Singaporeย ย ย  Shanghai 6, 13, 20, 27
SQ833 Shanghaiย ย ย  Singapore 6, 13, 20, 27
SQ638 Singaporeย ย ย  Tokyo (Narita) 1, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25,
29
SQ637 Tokyo (Narita)ย ย ย  Singapore 2, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26,
30
Services to South West Pacific (Source)
Flight Number Route Operating Dates (April 2020)
SQ211 Singaporeย ย ย  Sydney 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24,
26, 28
SQ232 Sydneyย ย ย  Singapore 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25,
27, 29
Services to Europe (Source)
Flight Number Route Operating Dates (April 2020)
SQ318 Singaporeย ย ย  London 1
SQ317 Londonย ย ย  Singapore 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23,
25, 27, 30
SQ322 Singaporeย ย ย  London 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23,
25, 28, 30
SQ326 Singaporeย ย ย  Frankfurt 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22,
24, 26, 29
SQ325 Frankfurtย ย ย  Singapore 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23,
25, 27, 30
SQ346 Singaporeย ย ย  Zurich 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22,
24, 26, 29
SQ345 Zurichย ย ย  Singapore 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23,
25, 27, 30
Services to the United States (Source)
Flight Number Route Operating Dates (April 2020)
SQ38 Singaporeย ย ย  Los Angeles 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29
SQ37 Los Angeles Singapore 3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29

I paid a visit to Changi last week, and although I knew what to expect, I still got major feels walking through the terminals. Whether it was 1, 2 or 3, the whole place had a real “Last of us” vibe.

Terminal 1
Terminal 2
Terminal 3

Jewel wasn’t any better, with reliably crowded haunts like the Pokemon Centre empty, and many merchants running rock bottom promotions. The Changi Lounge is now 50% off, for what it’s worth.

At least I managed to get a nice shot of the waterfall for once, with added rainbow bonus.

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines is maintaining bare bones connectivity to Australia, Europe and the USA, despite the extensive fleet groundings. I doubt it makes a difference to most people, given that no one’s going to be traveling any time soon.

Still, it makes you nostalgic for the days when the biggest concern was what destinations were coming out for Spontaneous Escapes…

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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Tung

My sq22 flight to new york city on 24 Apr still shows “confirmed” on my manage trip. why is this so?

Jason

Hello from Sydney. Love the shot of the waterfall Aaron!

Jason

haha you’re a funny one. things are OK here, good luck with the upcoming lockdown!

Abdul

It is very sad to see our airport in this situation…