CAAS to sign nine agreements at Singapore Airshow

The agreements will cover sustainability, innovation and human capital development

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is set to sign nine agreements with various partners at the upcoming Changi Aviation Summit and Singapore Airshow.

The summit will commence from Feb 1 to 2 and the Singapore Airshow will take place from Feb 3 to 8.

The deals aim to ensure continued growth amid geopolitical disruptions and improve connectivity, it said on Thursday (Jan 29).

CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan said: “We are investing in new capabilities in sustainability, innovation and human capital, and strengthening global and public-private partnerships.”

Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow will open the Changi Aviation Summit with a keynote address – his first in this capacity – followed by speeches from newly-elected International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council president Toshiyuki Onuma and a panel with International Air Transport Association (Iata) director-general Willie Walsh.

In a key development at the summit, which will take place, CAAS and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (SAFCo), its wholly owned non-profit, will sign a memorandums of understanding (MOU) to launch Singapore’s first voluntary sustainable aviation fuel procurement trial.

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SAFCo was set up to supply sustainable aviation fuel to Changi and Seletar airports and is designed to support the implementation of Singapore’s national sustainable aviation fuel policy.

The trial will help “aggregate voluntary sustainable aviation fuel demand” through the company. This voluntary demand is set to complement the mandate of sustainable aviation fuel being 1 per cent of all the fuel used at Changi and Seletar airports from Oct 1.

Singapore, a ‘hub for aviation innovation’

CAAS will also sign four MOUs at the summit and airshow to develop and trial “game-changing technologies” and establish Singapore as a “hub for aviation innovation”.

These agreements will accelerate the development of “next-generation” aviation and aerospace technologies, new air navigation services, an “end-to-end readiness framework” for next-generation aircraft propulsion and a “Large Physics” foundation model.

Together, these four MOUs will improve aviation resilience, safety and efficiency, as well as improve Singapore’s performance, productivity and capacity, said CAAS.

The airshow will also feature a closed-door innovation symposium on Feb 4, convened by the International Centre for Aviation Innovation under CAAS.

Speakers at the panels there, including ST Engineering group chief operating officer Jeffrey Lam, Sats chief executive officer Kerry Mok and Boeing chief technology officer Dr Todd Citron, will discuss “how the aviation sector can accelerate and sustain innovation”.

Industry leaders like Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong and IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers will also be part of a panel at the summit to discuss airline strategies, route networks and business models.

Human capital and global ties

Singapore and the ICAO will also sign an agreement to jointly develop and deliver a new global leadership programme on air navigation services for the Directors-General of Civil Aviation.

“The programme provides a platform for Directors-General to work together to build capacity and capabilities in the skies to support the growth of air travel,” said CAAS.

On the training front, Singapore will sign cooperation agreements with Kenya and North Macedonia. This is in addition to an agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) to facilitate staff attachment and exchanges.

Furthermore, CAAS’ training arm, the Singapore Aviation Academy, and France’s Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile will launch a joint Advanced Master in Air Transport Management. The programme aims to “grow leadership, regulatory capabilities and safety outcomes” in Pacific Small Island Developing States, such as Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

The Singapore Airshow on Feb 3 will also host a Women in Aviation fireside chat on “reimagining aviation careers in a changing world”.

Speakers will include Iata’s senior vice-president and chief economist, Marie Owens Thomsen, as well as Japan’s assistant vice-minister for international aviation, Rieko Nakayama.

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