My wife and I have an 8-hour layover at Singapore Changi Terminal 3 in May. Arrival and departure are both on Singapore Airlines in that same terminal. Can we stay in the Transit Hotel without having to go through security screening twice? Off-airport is pretty much out of the question because of the time required to go through customs and security.

Lucky you having 8 hours in Changi. It is consistently rated one of the best in the world. If your layover is during the day there is no need for a hotel as there is so much to see and do airside. It has been many years since we passed through enroute to Australia but I doubt much has changed. We stayed in a small hotel room overnight going and a sleeping cubicle on the way back, both airside. Book early.

There are also city tours that you can take direct from the airport, I think provided by Singapore airlines, which are designed for travellers on layover. Check out the Changi website.

In general, unless things have changed, passengers should be able to stay at the Transit Hotel as long as the ongoing flight is linked with the original flight. I've been doing it for many years as I've been going to Singapore regularly since the late 1990s, but was last there in 2019/2020. But, rooms at the Transit Hotel need to be booked well in advance as they can and do sell out. One time or more, I ended up in a Transit Hotel in another terminal due to the one in my own terminal being sold out.

If upon arrival to Singapore, passengers decide to go through the immigration-passport section, then one will need to go back through it when it's time to continue onward.

If I have my tickets done from LAX-Singapore on Singapore Air, but have my second ticket done on Thai Air from Singapore to Bangkok, two separate tickets, then I can't stay at The Transit Hotel as the tickets are unlinked. In that situation, on my last trip when Singapore Air still had its 3;40AM-ish arrival time into Changi, I went through the immigration-passport section, collected my luggage, and then walked over to the very nearby connected Crowne Plaza Hotel. I checked in, slept, later had breakfast delivered to my room, ate breakfast, rested a bit more, and then did self-checkout a bit before checkout time. I then rolled my luggage over to the Jewel section of the airport where there are check-in counters as it was too early to check in at Thai Air in the regular part of the airport. The Jewel section checked in my luggage and I was done with luggage. Jewel opened in April 2019. I was there in both Dec 2019 and Feb 2020. There is a lot to do at Jewel to keep one very busy.

There can also be a situation where the airline tickets are linked, but one either doesn't want to book a room at The Transit Hotel or one just wants to get out of the arrival area for a while. Then, one will go through immigration-passport section, but not pick up luggage as it will be sent on to the final destination. However, when it's time to re-enter the terminal area, one will need to go back through the immigration passport area to get back in to catch one's ongoing flight. I have always found it fast as Changi is very organized.

I've also had tickets where I have linked my LAX-Singapore and Singapore-Bangkok portions on the same ticket and thus didn't go through the immigration-passport section, but instead stayed at the Transit Hotel and slept for some hours as one books in blocks of hours. Then, I would get up, check out, and either walk to one of the eateries to have something to eat or go to the movie theater and watch a movie for a while as there is (was?) a free movie theater. I think there's also still a swimming pool.

A lot depends on one's ticket and how it's set up and also on how tired one is when one arrives. By the time I arrive, I'm really tired and since years ago, Singapore Air changed my regular flight schedule to arrive around 3:40 AM instead of at its regular time at night, I had to shift gears.

Hope this has helped.

Happy Travels!

Thanks for the info. We are in and out on the same ticket, same airline. Arriving after the longest flight on the planet; 19 hours from New York. We have already made the reservation with the hotel.

Enjoy your travels!

We used the transit hotel last year, and I would do it again. Having a quiet room, shower and a place to relax was very nice, but don't expect an luxurious room. Even though the room comes with a meal, we did not eat it and preferred to eat outside, in the airport. Tons of options out there, plus, it gave us the opportunity to walk around. It's easy to spend a few hours just walking around the airport, safe travels!

The Transit Hotel comes with a meal? Is this new? I used to stay there quite often when tranferring from Indonesia and Australia to the US. It was pretty bare bones, but lying down never felt so good

No idea if new, but that's what happened last February. We were not impressed with the meal, we ate at a restaurant in the airport.