Changi Airport was crowned the world’s best aerodrome for 15 years straight prior to COVID-19 based on its superior traveler offerings and high-tech customer service. Now it’s readying to welcome back visitors en masse, hoping improvements made during the pandemic will cement its status as Asia’s premier aviation hub.

Most of the shops at the two Changi terminals that are operating have reopened and business partners like Singapore Airlines Ltd. and ground handling and catering outfit SATS Ltd. are hiring in anticipation of a travel rebound, seeking to avoid the labor shortage-induced snarls of Australia and Europe. New technology is being applied that’s taking contactless service to the next level.

Such efforts could help Changi become the region’s busiest airport for international travel in 2022, a title that’s there for the taking considering the woes of Hong Kong International Airport, where air passenger traffic has slowed to a trickle under China’s "COVID zero" policy. Restoring Changi, which commands a certain spot in the nation’s psyche, is also vital to Singapore’s economy, with the aviation sector accounting for more than 5% of the city’s gross domestic product and providing around 200,000 jobs.