By Elishya Perera
SINGAPORE (CWBN)_As the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the travel sector to a standstill, addressing the parliament today, transport minister Ong Ye Kung announced that an exclusive Covid- 19 testing laboratory will be set up at the Changi Airport in the next few months. Ong said, “on a selective basis, we can open up our border, do away with border closures and stay-home notice, which is a big deterrent to travel, and replace them with tests.”
While testing technology is advancing, “there are promising tests with quicker turnarounds while maintaining acceptable test sensitivity,” he said.
On the other hand, pursuing more green lanes and negotiating air travel bubbles with countries with low COVID-19 infection rates were among the measures outlined by him, to revive the aviation sector, described as the “key lifeline for Singapore”. Accordingly, Singapore will continue to pursue reciprocal green lane arrangements with Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea, restricting to a small group of essential business and official travelers.
Meanwhile, Changi Airport is now serving a little more than 5 per cent of the usual number of passenger flights and 1.5 per cent of its usual passenger volume, compared to pre-Covid-19 times. Changi Airport Group also lost revenue as a result of the reduction in service charges being collected from passengers and airlines due to the low passenger volume, while the shops and restaurants in the airport are having less customers. This resulted in 2,000 workforce reductions last month, after recording its largest-ever quarterly loss on record in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.
On the other hand, the SIA Group reported the first annual net loss in its 48-year history and has said it will reduce about 4,300 positions, affecting around 2,400 staff. This will be in addition to the 1,900 workforce reductions already carried out across the group through a voluntary release scheme and an early retirement of employees.
Accordingly, Ong stated that the government will continue to support the Changi Airport Group and Singapore’s national carrier by way of the Jobs Support Scheme, which provides employers with wage support to help them retain Singapore employees, as well as the cost relief measures through the Enhanced Aviation Support Package, under which an extra S$187 million will be injected into the crippled industry.
Meanwhile, Singapore would continue to facilitate passenger transfers at the Changi Airport. The transport minister explained that about a quarter of the passenger volume at the Airport are passenger transfers, meaning “the passengers do not clear immigration and are using Changi Airport as an interchange to get to their final destinations”. Accordingly, on a weekly basis, the Airport is now serving about 2,500 transfer passengers, and the numbers expected to rise steadily.
Ong also discussed that Singapore should be prepared to lift border restrictions to countries with “comprehensive public health surveillance systems”, and comparable incidence rates to Singapore. “Purely from an infection risk point of view, the risk of a traveler from these places carrying the virus when they arrive at Changi Airport, is no higher than that of a Singapore resident coming from Jurong or Sembawang, because we are of the same incidence rate, same risk profile,” he added. However, as a precaution, these travelers are to be subjected to a Covid-19 test, to ensure that they are not infected.
Having said that reviving the Changi Air Hub is a “top national priority”, Ong stated, “for members who are hoping that I’m about to announce some air travel resumption and even possible December holiday destinations, I am sorry I will disappoint you. The key is to make sure we stay safe and manage the risks.”
