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Singapore Highlights Commitment to Safe And Secure Air Travel

Source: Government of Singapore
Posted on: 22nd November 2009

Singapore supports global approach for sustainable growth in civil aviation.

Speech by Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Transport, at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Presidents’ 53rd Assembly,  20 November 2009, at Conrad Centenial, Singapore.

Presidents of AAPA member airlines,
Mr Herdman,
Mr Chew Choon Seng,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to join you this morning at the 53rd Assembly of the Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines’ (AAPA). I would like to congratulate AAPA and Singapore Airlines for co-hosting this prestigious event and wish our guests from overseas a very warm welcome and pleasant stay in Singapore.

A Challenging Operating Environment

Just two years ago, the global economy was soaring in clear blue skies and enjoying robust growth. Things took a rapid turn for the worse when the global financial crisis unfolded and came to a head in September 2008. In the months that followed, we witnessed some of the most challenging times for many governments and businesses as they struggled to ride out the financial maelstrom.

Like most other sectors, the air travel sector has not been spared, with many airlines sustaining record losses. AAPA Member airlines, despite being in the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region, were not spared. They suffered a 8.2% year-on-year decline in the total number of passengers carried for the first ten months of this year.

In a bid to adapt to the weak demand environment, many airlines took to cutting flight capacity, reducing operational costs and introducing heavily discounted fare promotions. Recent numbers show that the measures have had some success in paring down airline losses, but yields and profitability are still in sharp decline for many.

The resurgence of fuel prices and the threat of a second wave of the H1N1 Influenza-A pandemic this winter season may deal yet another blow to the air travel industry. In addition, the on-going debate about aviation’s contribution to global warming and the means proposed to curb carbon emissions could threaten the aviation industry with an array of fragmented measures with varying degrees of efficacy that could distort free market forces, which would only be to the detriment of operators and air travellers alike.

We are still not out of the woods today, and I believe many of you here are still watching for the indicative signs out there to firm up into a clear trend. But the airlines industry is a robust one. You have weathered many storms in the past and have emerged stronger. In order for Singapore to thrive as an air hub, we need the industry to soar once again, and to a greater height.

Singapore’s Commitment to Changi’s Partners

Against this backdrop, I would like to assure you of Singapore’s continued commitment to do our best to work with Changi Airport’s partners and their associates to not just circum-navigate around these weather clouds but to climb to a higher altitude.
To help the aviation industry cope with the crisis, in January this year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) expanded the budget for its Air Hub Development Fund to S$130 million, to fund a 15% rebate on office and airline lounge rentals, and a 25% rebate on landing fees for 2009. A further $70 million relief package was added to fund other rental rebates for retail, services and food & beverage concessionaires at ChangiAirport.

Notwithstanding the economic downturn, we are committed to provide the best operating environment and user-friendly facilities for Changi’s partners and their customers respectively. We have therefore pressed on with the upgrading of Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, having just completed the expansion of our Budget Terminal.

As a historically open trading, maritime, and in recent times, aviation hub, we fully subscribe to the principle of unfettered market access for all economic players. In the current downturn, we believe that it is even more critical to keep markets open to give businesses and economies the best chance to survive. As such, we have been tireless in our pursuit of air services liberalisation with like-minded States both in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere.

On the multilateral front, with the signing of the ASEAN Roadmap for Integration of Air Travel Sector or RIATS, which provides for liberalisation of passenger air services amongst ASEAN Capitals, we have gone on with our ASEAN partners to work on further expanding RIATS to include all ASEAN cities, in stages. When this is endorsed by ASEAN Transport Ministers at the end of this year, we will have hit the home stretch towards true ASEAN Open Skies.

Setting our sights beyond ASEAN, we will then be well-positioned to engage as a bloc, to liberalise the air services regime with major economic powerhouses such as China and India. This, coupled with the renewed commitment by APEC economies to further liberalise trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific, will put airlines and other aviation industry stakeholders in this region in an advantageous position to seize new opportunities when the global economic recovery finally takes off.

Singapore’s Commitment to Safer, More Secure Air Travel

While doing our utmost to set the stage for future growth in this part of the world, Singapore is mindful that this must all be attained in a balanced and sustainable manner, without degradation of the environment. That is why we are supportive of an inclusive, global approach to develop a comprehensive framework that will combine technology, operational, research & development and market-based environment-protection measures, to ensure the sustainable growth of global civil aviation on a level playing field.

In the post-911 world, air travel has lost much of its former glamour and innocence as aircraft could be used as devastating weapons of terror. As a consequence, airports have become virtual fortresses with restrictive security rules which have meant higher costs, curtailing passenger convenience and comfort. Singapore has continuously sought to support the global aviation community’s efforts at making air travel safe and secure, while also helping to find ways where we can ease the discomforts arising from the very same measures designed to guarantee passenger safety and security.
In 2007, Singapore participated with other States under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a harmonised set of guidelines across airports to allow for a smoother and more pleasant travel experience for passengers. Singapore is proud to have been instrumental in developing the tamper-evident plastic bag that is now widely implemented at duty-free outlets at airports around the world for the carriage on board aircraft, of Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGs) purchased at these points. We are committed to continue working with like-minded partners in the international aviation community to find better ways to make air travel safe and secure.

Conclusion

Air transport is a vital engine and facilitator of economic growth. Its increasing availability and affordability has firmly entrenched it in the modern world. Flying is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity in many instances, and has become a vital link for societies and economies in the 21st century. As airlines strive to find their path through the current precarious economic conditions of the world, I would like to assure this gathering of distinguished Asia-Pacific airline executives that Singapore will do its part to provide the best possible environment for your companies to operate, seize new opportunities, and grow.  Notwithstanding the current turbulence, the future of the industry is a bright one and the sky is the limit.

On this note, I wish you a successful and fruitful meeting today. Thank you.

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