Changi Airport Group (CAG) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) of Singapore have announced that one of two remaining iconic analog flight information display (FID) boards at Changi Airport Terminal 2, which was retired earlier in the month, will be donated to NHB to form part of Singapore’s National Collection.
Since the announcement of the flip boards’ decommissioning earlier in January, CAG and NHB have been working together to explore ways to preserve at least one of the airport’s beloved flip boards.
Originally located between check-in rows 9 and 10 of the airport’s Departure Hall, the flip board underwent de-installation in various stages in February. The different components of the board – consisting of over 2,000 pieces of capsules, panels and casings – were documented by NHB and transported to its storage facility for cleaning. The analog flip boards were decommissioned due to challenges in maintenance, and increasing difficulties faced in sourcing for parts.
After thorough cleaning of the components is complete, which is estimated to take six months, the components will be transferred to NHB’s Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC) where conservators will assess the condition of the components of the flip board, and recommend plans for conservation and storage. CAG and NHB will then explore future possibilities for display.
“We believe that the flip boards have provided many wonderful memories for Changi Airport’s passengers and visitors over the decades, capturing the romance of travel even in today’s highly digital age. The flip boards are certainly part of Changi Airport’s history. Hence, we will also re-use the last remaining flip board, to be retired in about two years’ time, in a different part of the airport as a display piece to be enjoyed by all who visit,” said Ang Siew Min, senior vice president, development operations, CAG.
“We took the flip board for the National Collection because we believe that it is an important piece of airport infrastructure and a formative feature of the air travel experience. Many Singaporeans will remember standing underneath the boards, listening to the clickety-clack sounds of the split flaps and waiting for their flight information to be displayed,” said Alvin Tan, deputy chief executive (policy and community), NHB.