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SINGAPORE – While Covid-19 has nearly wiped out the movement of air passengers, the number of passengers in public transport has rebounded and the volume of maritime cargo is almost at pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said.
The number of passengers in Singapore’s public transport now represents more than 70 percent of what it was at the beginning of the year, according to figures released by the ministry in a Facebook post on Saturday (December 26).
Passenger movement at Changi Airport in April plummeted to 0.4% from what it was at the beginning of the year, MOT figures showed. Singapore closed its borders to travelers on March 23 and entered the breaker period on April 7.
The number of air passengers has increased since then and, in November, MOT said the figure is 1.9%.
Commenting on the figures in a separate Facebook post, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said that air travel remains a challenge.
Earlier this year, he had underlined the importance of rebuilding air links with the country, saying that the longer Singapore’s borders remain closed, the greater the risk that it will lose its status as an air hub, which is critical to its economy.
MOT data showed how the number of passengers throughout the day of public transport decreased as a result of Singapore’s security measures. In April, the number of passengers using public transportation fell to 32 percent from the beginning of the year. This fell further to 25 percent in May, but started to rebound after that, going to 72 percent last month. Ong said the numbers plummeted as a result of the circuit breaker.
Referring to the performance of the maritime sector, Ong said it was a “bright spark in such difficult times.”
MOT data showed that Singapore’s ocean freight volume has remained at the same levels. Compared to the beginning of the year, the volume of maritime cargo stood at 97 percent in November.
“Our port remains open, goods flowed. We even managed to develop ‘safe corridor’ procedures for crew changes that were considered international maritime best practices,” said Mr. Ong.
“Going forward, we partner with the industry to further drive digitization and innovation as we grow our maritime talent pool.”
The Government has been providing assistance to the maritime industry. Earlier this month, it announced that it was extending aid to the most affected sectors of the industry to overcome the pandemic, under the MaritimeSG Together package.
This includes financial assistance for seafarers, granting of port fees for ships carrying passengers, and extension of credit terms for maritime companies.
The MaritimeSG Together package went into effect on May 1 to support shipping companies, Singaporean seafarers and individuals undergoing maritime training, to the tune of $ 27 million.
Correction note: An earlier version of this story said that passenger movement at Changi Airport in April was 0.004 percent and in November 0.019 percent. MOT has since clarified and the figures have been updated.
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