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SINGAPORE – The aviation sector here will receive additional government support in the amount of $ 84 million, as the continued recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to be slow.
This additional financial support will help the industry cope with increased operating costs and training plans, as well as investment in productivity.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement on Tuesday (December 29) that the new support measures are critical to reviving Singapore’s air hub and preparing it for the recovery of air travel.
“Given ongoing border restrictions and the resurgence of Covid-19 in many countries during the winter, air travel will not pick up anytime soon.
“It is therefore critical that we continue our support for the industry to help aviation companies and workers overcome the crisis.”
CAAS said $ 39 million will go towards helping businesses deal with the additional costs incurred during the pandemic.
Explaining this measure, he said that companies have spent significant sums on measures to facilitate safe air travel with minimized risks to public health.
He noted that these measures require additional infrastructure, equipment and manpower, but those costs “cannot be recovered from passengers during this period.”
“To help mitigate some of these costs, the Government will provide funds to support the development, adoption and deployment of innovative technologies and measures to protect our airport workers and aircrew from contracting Covid-19,” said CAAS.
“These include aircraft and baggage disinfection systems.”
The government will also continue to provide reimbursements for fees and charges. For example, CAAS will waive the fees Singapore-based airlines pay for certificates of airworthiness.
CAAS will also provide a 50 percent refund for license fees payable for ground handling and catering services at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport from April this year to March 31 next year.
Meanwhile, about $ 20 million will be allocated to support the training of workers in the sector.
Pilots, air traffic controllers and aircraft maintenance engineers who have to pay their license fees and medical evaluation fees will get a full refund for fees payable between April of this year and March of next year.
Aviation workers who are at risk of losing their jobs or being underemployed will be assisted in learning new skills to facilitate their transfer to other jobs in the industry. More details on the new programs for these workers will be released in January.
Additionally, Singapore-based airlines will receive financial support to retrain their pilots and keep their skills up to date. CAAS said this was necessary to ensure a sufficient number of pilots for the eventual recovery of the sector.
Singaporean pilots who have been laid off by foreign airlines will also be able to apply for a pilot license here, as part of a rule change that aims to help them secure a job with local airlines in the future.
The remaining $ 25 million will come in the form of an injection to the Aviation Development Fund.
CAAS said: “This will provide an enhanced level of financial support of up to 90 percent to businesses through the end of fiscal 2021 (March 31, 2022) for business initiatives.
“These productivity efforts will enhance the attractiveness of the sector to Singaporeans, support the employability of older workers and reduce the sector’s dependence on the foreign workforce in the long term.”
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post that the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked “the most difficult challenge in” Singapore’s aviation history.
In an attached video explaining measures to support the sector, Ong noted that passenger volumes remain at just 2 percent of what they were.
He added: “As we do all this, we are also clear that the most important task is to recover air travel safely and reactivate our aviation center.
“(This) is why we are opening our borders to countries and places that have successfully controlled the virus, and forging air travel bubbles … Together, we will go through this arduous journey and take our place in the skies again.” .
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