Changi Airport Group

Bringing heat protection into airside work 

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Business type: Airport operator working with airside service partners
Sector: Aviation and airport services

Geography: Singapore
Climate and nature-related risk: Extreme heat affecting the health and working capacity of outdoor service workers
Solution pathway: Workplace cooling; hydration access; protective equipment; coordinated working practices

In Practice

Airside services depend on staff working outdoors while coordinating activities around aircraft. Changi Airport Group’s heat-resilience programme provides additional water coolers, cooling pods in airside staff lounges, portable neck fans, and UV-resistant arm sleeves. Trucks supplying chilled drinks provide further hydration support during the hotter months. 

The operator also works with partner companies on acclimatisation for new workers and flexibility for more frequent rest breaks during periods of high heat stress. Seminars delivered with Raffles Medical Group help supervisors recognise heat-related illness and provide first aid, extending the response beyond equipment and facilities.

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’s Changi case study places these workforce measures within a wider programme of airport heat adaptation and longer-term planning. Together, the accounts illustrate coordination across organisations whose employees collectively deliver airport services. They document measures introduced, but do not quantify resulting reductions in heat illness or operational disruption.

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Why this example was selected

Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment explicitly highlighted Changi’s cooling pods and drinks trucks as additional protections for outdoor workers. CDRI also features the airport as a heat-adaptation example. The case is relevant to service operators with several employers sharing one site, where access to facilities and consistent working arrangements both influence workforce protection. 

Key Lesson

Place cooling and hydration close to outdoor work and coordinate acclimatisation, rest arrangements, and supervisor responsibilities across employers so heat protection becomes part of the shared operating plan. 

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