Retailers at Singapore’s Changi Airport will be granted half-cost rents for six months, backdated to February 1 due to the impact on passenger movements resulting from the coronavirus epidemic.

The Changi Airport rents rebate will cover more than 540 retail, F&B and service tenants at the airport who are facing a sharp drop in sales during the outbreak. Retailer operating hours will also be reduced at the airport, optional for those trading landside.

The rent reductions are in addition to rebates that automatically apply when airport traffic is down.

The moves follow a government announcement of a SGD112 million (US$80 million) package for the aviation sector to help protect businesses and jobs at the airport as well as preserve the connectivity of the travel hub. It includes a property tax rebate that the airport is passing on to its shops in full.

Management is holding ongoing discussions on how to further support retail tenants in addition to the Changi Airport rents cut.