Changi Airport has said that it has crossed the milestone of 50 million passengers due to increasing air travel in the Asian region.

The centrally located Changi Airport in Singapore benefitted from increasing passenger numbers due to increased intra-Asia travel and a host of low cost airlines. The airport has crossed the 40 million passengers mark two years ago. The achieving of the milestone is even more significant due to a global slowdown in economic growth.

The airport was used by 46.3 million passengers between January and November this year and it had recorded 46.5 million passengers during the whole of 2011. Airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) said on Friday that the high growth in to and from North-east Asia and South Asia helped boost the passenger numbers.

CAG's chief executive officer, Lee Seow Hiang said, "Despite a sluggish global economy and an uncertain outlook for air travel, Changi Airport has risen against the challenges to deliver another record-breaking year in 2012. CAG will continue to invest in infrastructure to ensure that we keep pace with future growth and that we continually provide passengers with a first-class Changi experience."

The airport operator is currently revamping its Budget Terminal and will be opened as Terminal 4 in 2017, which will expand the airport capacity to 85 million passengers per year.