Changi Airport MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station serving Changi Airport and its supplementary structure Jewel in Changi, Singapore. It is the terminus of the Changi Airport branch of the East West line (EWL). The station is operated by SMRT Trains and is built in an east–west direction. The two ends of the station connects directly to Terminals 2 and 3 of Changi Airport. While there were plans for a rail connection to the airport in the 1980s, plans were shelved due to the low viability of such a branch. With higher air traffic to Changi Airport and the proposal of a Terminal 3 in 1994, the rail link plan were revived. The current two-station branch line was finalised in 1996 and construction began in 1999. The station opened on 8 February 2002, with passenger demand lower than expected. Nevertheless, it continues to provide an alternative transport option to the airport. Demand also improved when Terminal 3 opened in 2008. On 25 May 2019, it was announced that the station will be incorporated as part of the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL) as it extends to the airport's Terminal 5 by 2040. History Early plans A branch to the airport was included in the early plans of the MRT network in May 1982. The branch was to be built when the rest of the MRT system was completed. In 1983, the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) concluded through a feasibility study that there might not be sufficient passenger traffic to justify such a branch. As the MRT system was built below budget, plans for the connection were reviewed in 1984. In 1985, the MRTC conducted a survey on transportation needs by airport workers in 1985, but concluded in January 1986 that the connection is unfeasible, with travellers preferring to commute to the airport by taxis. Communications Minister Yeo Ning Hong further explained that such an extension might be considered if there were development plans in the Changi area, otherwise the low demand might not meet operating costs. In 1991, he stated that such a connection would only be justified when 50 million passengers are using the airport annually, with projections that the airport would handle only about 34 million passengers annually at the beginning of the 20th century. The minister further stated that the airport was already well served by expressways with affordable taxi rates. Nevertheless, land