Singapore Airshow 2022 is still up in the air: Iswaran

THE prospect of the Singapore Airshow resuming next year is still up in the air, even as the Republic is hoping to have the biennial aviation event that was last held in 2020, said the Minister for Transport S Iswaran.

The minister, when queried by The Business Times at a door-stop on Monday, said: "We would like to have the air show next year. But I think there's still a bit of time between now and then. And what we want to do is make sure that if the circumstances allow, then we would want to proceed."

He stated that the aviation show, if it goes on, would have to be in compliance with the prevailing safety management measures at the time.

Singapore Airshow was last held in February 2020, shortly after the first novel coronavirus cases hit the Republic's shores, with more than 70 participating companies having pulled out last minute over virus fears.

Mr Iswaran was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a conference held to commemorate the Ministry of Transport's 20th anniversary.

In his speech at the conference, the minister disclosed that Singapore is working on expanding the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to more countries and regions in the coming weeks and months.

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He noted that the ministry has been encouraged by the "very promising" outcome in the first two weeks of VTL's launch on Sept 8, with 2,500 having applied under the arrangement and more than 900 of them had already arrived here.

Under VTL - open to Germany and Brunei for a start - vaccinated travellers have to take up to four polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests so that they do not need to be quarantined.

The minister said there was one traveller that has been detected upon arrival so far, and that person was isolated and quarantined. "So, what it basically tells us is the system is working. And we are gaining confidence with it and I think that's an important prerequisite before we think about scaling to other countries as well."

On whether Singapore is talking to China about reopening borders, Mr Iswaran replied this is about the border restrictions and the travel policies that China has. "And I think that's the key thing, it's not so much about us because we already allow the inflow of travellers from China through the unilateral reopening."

He told the conference participants that ensuring connectivity is the enduring mission of the Ministry of Transport, and Singapore's transportation system and infrastructure must be reliable, resilient and ready for the future. He noted the port is widely regarded as a "catch-up" port where shipping lines can make up for delays elsewhere, as well as being the world's top transhipment port with January to July throughput 3 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2019.

Mr Iswaran also stressed that reviving Singapore's air hub and restoring aviation connectivity is critical to the economy and its reputation as a trusted international hub. Changi Airport is currently operating at only 3 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) at 4 per cent. 

"It may take some time for global air travel to normalise. But make no mistake, we will do our utmost to ensure Changi thrives again, and SIA soars again."