POWERED by the twin engines of India and China, the number of flights in and out of Changi Airport has reached a record high of 4,300 a week.

The services are operated by 83 airlines that connect Singapore to 189 cities in 60 countries, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Monday.

Director-general and chief executive officer Lim Kim Choon said: 'Leading this growth is increases in flights to South Asia and North Asia, in particular the Indian sub-continent.'

'This is not surprising, given that India and China are Singapore's fastest growing markets for business and tourism.'

Between January and August, passenger traffic between Singapore and India grew 17.5 per cent compared to the same eight months last year.

For China, the growth was 11.3 per cent. Cities that are seeing more flights from Singapore include Chennai, Bangalore and Cochin in India; and Shanghai, Hangzhou and Fuzhou in China.

In addition, there are two new destinations in Changi's air network - Coimbatore in India and Kathmandu in Nepal.

There are also more flights between Singapore and cities in Australia and New Zealand, the CAAS said.

The air cargo industry is growing too, with new flights launched by United Parcel Services Co, Shanghai Airlines Cargo International, Asiana Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, EVA Airways Corporation and Singapore?s own new home-grown carrier, Jett8 Airlines Cargo.

Mr Lim said: 'The introduction of new passenger and cargo flights reaffirm Changi Airport's status as a vibrant international air hub.'

'It is also a reflection of the airline industry's confidence in Singapore's growth potential for both passenger and cargo traffic.'