Originally Posted by
Annalisa12
Another surprising thing to note, when we checked in at the First Class entrance, our 2 carry on bags and a large box of chocolates were not scanned or visually looked at as we entered the airport. They were screened as we entered the holding area to board, however, one could still have done a lot of damage in the hours before as I wandered around the airport with my unscanned items.
That is standard at Changi, the security is all gate based, although occasionally there will be random scans of hand luggage prior to immigration. This effectively puts the transit area of Changi on the same level as, well with any public space in Singapore, such as Marina Bay Sands, Clarke Quay, any major shopping centre. When you think about you don't pass through security entering those places. Also, there will sometimes random security checks on arriving passengers from certain places, particularly from secondary airports in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand etc.
It means the airport needs less infrastructure (arrivals and departures are not on separate levels, as they are most major international airports) and gets transiting passengers into the shops much quicker upon arrival!