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SINGAPORE – No effort will be spared to ensure that Singapore Airlines and the aviation sector will overcome the current crisis, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Thursday (April 30).
“The Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) has been severely affected. Like our national airline, SIA has supported our efforts to fight Covid-19,” Prime Minister Lee said in his May Day message.
“They help fly essential supplies. They have mounted evacuation flights to bring Singaporeans home. Their cabin crew serve as care ambassadors in hospitals and safe distancing ambassadors in trains, markets and shopping malls,” he said, describing what SIA and its staff are doing to combat the coronavirus.
“But like most other airlines, most SQ flights will remain grounded for some time. The SIA administration has taken pay cuts. The unions and workers have also accepted the sacrifices,” he added.
“Everyone at SIA understands that the airline is facing the biggest crisis in its history. Everyone is doing their part to help the company survive.”
Prime Minister Lee noted that tourism and aviation will take much longer to recover than other sectors, because international travel will remain restricted as long as Covid-19 remains a problem worldwide.
Air transport, he added, is central to Singapore’s role as a global and regional hub.
“It is a strategic sector. That is why the government is providing additional support for aviation,” he said.
Last Friday, SIA announced that it would extend its flight cancellations until the end of June amid travel restrictions worldwide. SIA currently has passenger flights to only 15 destinations, compared to more than 130 typically.
“The government is determined that SIA overcome this crisis,” Prime Minister Lee said.
“SIA has always flown the flag of Singapore around the world and we are proud of it. We will spare no effort to get it done again.”
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