The station is the terminus of the Changi Airport branch of the East–West Line (EWL); it is operated by SMRT Trains and is built in an east–west orientation.

In a 1983 feasibility study, the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) concluded the level of passenger traffic was insufficient to justify such a branch.

[7] However, the consultants concluded in January 1986 that the connection was financially unfeasible in the immediate period because travellers preferred to commute to the airport by taxi.

[8] In the following year, Communications Minister Yeo Ning Hong announced that the planned spur would be unfeasible despite the completion of Terminal 2.

[12] In August 1994, the proposal for a rail link was reconsidered after airport use grew by 10% annually, surpassing the previous projections of 6–7%.

The MRTC opened consultation studies on the airport link, which would branch off from the East–West Line (EWL) at Tanah Merah station but without intermediate stops.

[13][14] After another feasibility study by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on 15 November 1996 that the 6.4-kilometre (4.0 mi) branch would be built.

[15] The branch, which was projected to be completed in 2001, would run from Tanah Merah station and have an intermediate stop at Somapah (now Expo) to serve the Changi Business Park and the exhibition centre.

[21][22] CPG Consultants, which was designing Terminal 3, provided 20 staff to assist the LTA team on the line extension.

Speaking at the ceremony, Communications Minister Mah Bow Tan said the station's construction would require close collaboration between stakeholders such as the LTA, CAAS and the contractors.

[24] As the station was built in a sensitive area, top-down construction works had to be carefully planned to limit disruption to airport operations.

[25] Close monitoring was required to construct the 1 km-long (0.62 mi) tunnels leading to the station, which pass directly beneath the runway and airport terminal.

[24] The roads connecting to the arrival and departure halls of Terminals 1 and 2 were rerouted west of the station site during the construction.

[26][27] Extensive foundation reconstruction was required for the overrun tunnels as they passed through an irregular pile layout beyond the east side of the station.

Many air travellers preferred to continue taking taxis or private transport because not all of the trains on the MRT had luggage racks.

[65] A tactile flooring system, consisting of tiles with raised, rounded-or-elongated studs, guides visually impaired commuters through the station.

[67] At the station's two entrances are glass atrium walls that support an illuminated, 150 m (490 ft) bridge spanning the island platform.

[70] The facade panels are hung from vertical trusses at the end of each cantilever, and are supported by other cables that run diagonally and horizontally.